A monumental change is seemingly underway in the underbelly of live sports consumption.
The prominent illegal sports streaming website “Methstreams” has been taken down, along with the sister site “Crackstreams” that was operated by the same owner. Users that visit the domain are met with a message from the owner who simply states, “I’ll be taking a break from live streaming,” followed by a warning to proceed with caution on websites using similar domain names.
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: Popular sport streaming sites Methstreams and Crackstreams have been taken down and are no longer in use.
Millions of sports fans will be impacted by this. pic.twitter.com/oRmQ3Vl0VH
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 30, 2024
The amount of fans who access live sports through illegal streaming services is difficult to quantify, and the platforms are seldom reported on when compared to above-board means of watching content.
Professional leagues have taken action in recent years to combat the purveyors of illegal streaming sites. Last year, the English Premier League announced that five individuals that had been operating illegal streams were sentenced to jail time totaling over 30 years.
According to a report in Variety last year, more than one-in-ten American adults pirated movies, TV shows, or live sports in 2022. That amounts to 23 million people. In 2023, an Oddspedia survey suggested that 35% of NFL fans “regularly watch their teams games” through illegal streams, with nearly half saying they use illegal streams to watch at least one game per season.
With the NFL’s postseason fast approaching, many fans that rely on illegal streaming websites will be forced to find alternatives (of the legal or illegal variety) for the most important games of the year.
It’s a wonder exactly why Methstreams is going down now. Could the NFL or other professional sports leagues have finally found a way to crack down on illegal streaming? Have the authorities tracked down the individuals responsible for the platform? Or are they simply not interested in providing illegal sports streams anymore?
There could be any number of possibilities. But one thing is certain: there will be plenty of sports fans looking for another means to watch their favorite teams this weekend.
[X/@NFL_DovKleiman]
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.