NFL and UFC Mobilize the Feds Against Illegal Streams

NFL and UFC Mobilize the Feds Against Illegal Streams

By: Donovan Sbiroli

Image via Homeland Security Investigations *HSI) and WIBX.

For fans of the National Football League (NFL) to have access to most out-of-market games throughout a season, they need to purchase “NFL Sunday Ticket.” The product, which is sold by Alphabet, Inc. under its YouTube TV service, costs $479 at the start of the season.[1] In lieu of paying the base price of $479, millions of fans have turned to piracy and illegal streams.

Domain names of such illegal streams can be seized, however. Section 2323 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code provides for civil asset forfeiture and seizure. Paragraph (a) of the section reads:

“The following property is subject to forfeiture to the United States Government: any article, the making or trafficking of which is prohibited under section 506 of title 17… any property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part to commit or facilitate the commission of an offense referred to in subparagraph (A)…For seizures made under this section, the court shall enter an appropriate protective order with respect to discovery and use of any records or information that has been seized . . . the court shall order that any property forfeited under paragraph (1) be destroyed.”[2]

Feds Flex their Muscles

In August 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security used its civil asset forfeiture authority to seize the primary domain name for StreamEast, an illegal streaming website that had over 15 million monthly visitors, according to WIBX radio.[3] StreamEast hosts illegal streams of NFL games, as well as sporting events from other popular leagues and organizations such as Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

As of August 2024, visitors to StreamEast’s domains were greeted with a banner bearing the seals of Homeland Security Investigations and the US Department of Justice and emblazoned with the words, “This domain name has been seized by Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) pursuant to a warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana under the authority of, inter alia, Title 18, United States Code, Section 2323.”[4]

Congressional encouragement

These actions of the executive branch were precipitated by the machinations of Congress. On December 13, 2023, the US House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet received a brief written by Riche T. McKnight, General Counsel of UFC.[5]

McKnight argued that broadcasted sporting events such as UFC matches and NFL games have an appeal that is based on “highly impactful but very brief moments in time, such as . . . a  particularly well-executed move.”[6] In his brief, McKnight also represented to Congress that “within hours of a single [sporting] event, hundreds of thousands of viewers may have already seen infringing versions of the event, including those critical moments.”[7] McKnight goes on to say that pirates post livestreams and recorded videos to illegal sites, and those pirated streams and videos will accumulate millions of views before the relevant rights holder, such as UFC or NFL, is able to have the stream or video taken down.[8]

Section 512(c)(1) of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act provides the following in pertinent part:

“A service provider [OSP] shall not be liable for monetary relief…for infringement of copyright by reason of the storage at the direction of a user of material that resides on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the [OSP] if the [OSP]…does not have actual knowledge that the material or an activity using the material on the system or network is infringing…or upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material.”[9]

McKnight argued that because this statutory language is from 1998, OSPs have been able to exploit the definition of “expeditiously” in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.[10] He posited that it is unjust that OSPs are able to comply with the 1998 statute by removing pirated content from their platforms after said content was available and viewable for free for “hours or even days.”[11]

Apparently, the federal government agreed with McKnight and UFC. Now, StreamEast and its competitors are on their last legs.

[1] Mike Snider, NFL Sunday Ticket price: Breaking down how much it costs, plus some discounts, USA Today (Sep. 8, 2024, 12:01 AM), https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2024/09/08/nfl-sunday-ticket-price-youtube-tv/75107041007/.

[2] 18 U.S.C. § 2323(a).

[3] Megan Duley, Feds Seize Popular Sports Streaming Site Used by New Yorkers, WIBX 950 AM (Aug. 21, 2024), https://wibx950.com/streameast-seized-by-homeland-security/.

[4] Id.

[5] Hearing on Digital Copyright Piracy: Protecting American Consumers, Workers, and Creators Before the Subcomm. On Cts., Intell. Prop. & the Internet of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 118th Cong. 3-9 (2023) (statement of Riche T. McKnight, General Counsel, Ultimate Fighting Championship).

[6] Id. at 3.

[7] Id.

[8] Id. at 3-4.

[9] 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(1).

[10] Hearing on Digital Copyright Piracy: Protecting American Consumers, Workers, and Creators Before the Subcomm. On Cts., Intell. Prop. & the Internet of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 118th Cong. 5 (2023) (statement of Riche T. McKnight, General Counsel, Ultimate Fighting Championship).

[11] Id.