Egyptian Authorities, ACE Shut Largest Live Sports Piracy Network

Egyptian authorities, in collaboration with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), have shut down Streameast, the world's largest illegal live sports streaming network, which operated across 80 domains and recorded over 1.6 billion visits last year. Streameast provided unauthorized access to a wide range of premium sports content, including Europe's top soccer leagues, UEFA competitions, major international qualifiers, and American sports such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB, as well as pay-per-view events like boxing, MMA, and motorsports. The shutdown is hailed as a major victory by ACE chairman Charles Rivkin and DAZN COO Ed McCarthy, who emphasized the operation's impact on sports leagues, broadcasters, and fans worldwide. The crackdown followed a year-long investigation and led to arrests near Cairo, with authorities seizing devices and uncovering links to a UAE shell company used for laundering advertising revenue. The move addresses the growing challenge of illegal sports streaming amid rising costs and fragmented subscription services, which have driven some fans to seek pirated streams. All Streameast domains now redirect to ACE's "Watch Legally" page, reinforcing efforts to promote legitimate access to live sports content.