An Egyptian court has sentenced two operators of the illegal sports streaming service StreamEast to two years in prison, according to a public interest group that puts piracy streaming TV services in its crosshairs.
The Cairo Economic Court found both defendants guilty of copyright infringement and imposed fines of EGP 5.5 million (around U.S. $110,000) on each operator, according to the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), which is backed by the Motion Picture Association (MPA).
The court also ordered the confiscation of computers, mobile phones, networking equipment, financial assets and bank cards seized during the investigation. Multiple domains associated with StreamEast were formally ordered closed, while the judgment must be published at the defendants’ expense.
StreamEast operated through approximately 80 associated domains and recorded more than 1.6 billion visits before its shutdown in August 2025. ACE described the service as the world’s largest illegal live sports streaming operation at the time enforcement action was taken.
ACE led the investigation with support from the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, the Economic Affairs and Money Laundering Prosecution, the Cairo Economic Court and several industry partners.
“Today’s judgment delivers a strong and unmistakable message: digital piracy poses a serious threat to creators and fans in Egypt and elsewhere – and anyone who profits from it will face significant legal consequences,” Charles Rivkin, the Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE, said in a statement.
Rivkin continued: “Our teamwork with Egyptian authorities, and our action against StreamEast, demonstrate the growing determination of governments to protect creative industries, consumers, and legitimate digital marketplaces across the region.”
StreamEast was one of the world’s largest illegal streaming sports services in the world, attracting millions of users — including some sports stars like former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player LeBron James, who was seen using the service while on the sidelines of a game two years ago.
Every major professional and college-level sports competition was offered via the service, with illegal streams associated with events from the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer (MLS), the Winter and Summer Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup and others.
At one point, the website logged more than 130 million monthly users, according to data released by ACE. That viewership figure has not been independently confirmed.
Law enforcement officials and TV rights holders are constantly playing a game of whack-a-mole with illegal streaming services: When one service is disrupted or shut down, another one quickly spins up, offering many of the same live games to streamers for little or no money.
The majority of illegal streaming services supplement their operations through advertising revenue, raising questions about how ad platforms scrutinize the legitimacy of those platforms before forging revenue-generating opportunities with them.
Other services charge a nominal fee to access thousands of live channels per year, with the price often falling well short of legitimate streaming TV services backed by major media and tech companies, depriving rights holders of the ability to fully capitalize on their investments in that programming and driving the cost of live sports rights up for all broadcasters and media distributors.
