Graphic by Haddy Barghouti
Streaming has become the primary way for sports fans to watch live games.
But, on Aug. 24, Streameast, a pirated site many fans relied on, was suddenly shut down, taking away a go-to option for watching games outside the traditional networks.
Streameast was operated by two individuals from Egypt and shut down because of copyright violations, according to a USA Today article.
I’m lucky to have YouTube TV through a family subscription, but many college students aren’t so fortunate. Without access to cable or paid streaming services, they often turn to sites like Streameast to watch live games.
YouTube TV costs $83 a month, while other cable providers such as DirecTV ($85) are similarly priced, making these services increasingly unaffordable for college students, according to a DirectTV webpage.
Streameast often lags and doesn’t offer the same quality as cable, sometimes pausing every minute and includes numerous ads.
But even with those frustrations, many people still prefer it over paying for expensive subscriptions, because at the end of the day, they still get to watch sports.
I love following the Champions League and the Premier League, but not all games are available on YouTube TV.
To watch every Champions League match, I need Paramount+ and to catch every Premier League game, I need Peacock.
Ultimate Fighting Championship is another major sporting event and even cable doesn’t include its biggest fights – you have to pay per view, according to a UFC webpage.
That’s part of what made Streameast feel so necessary for so many fans. Depending on where you live, cable and even YouTube TV can be hit with blackout restrictions.
In certain areas, the programming cannot be shown, often displaying a blackout message or broadcasting an alternative game instead, according to a DirecTV webpage.
This practice is primarily used to protect a home team’s regional audience or to uphold broadcasting agreements, according to the same webpage.
For example, I can’t watch Sacramento Kings games on YouTube TV, even though I live in Northern California.
The NBA wants fans to purchase League Pass, a subscription service that lets viewers watch out-of-market games, just to follow their own teams.
For many fans, this means we can’t support our favorite teams without paying yet another fee, adding frustration and making it harder for casual viewers to stay connected to the sport they love.
I’ve been a Golden State Warriors fan my whole life and am lucky to live in the Bay Area. But if an individual is a Warriors fan on the East Coast, in addition to cable, they’d have to buy League Pass just to watch one team.
Even athletes who earn millions look for ways to save money.
On May 24, 2024, LeBron James was spotted using Streameast while courtside at an NBA game, according to a Sept. 3 New York Times article.
We also have to consider who’s in charge of each sport.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told the New York Times on Sept. 3 that much of the NBA’s content is already available for free and the league is especially suited for short, highlight-driven viewing.
Watching highlights isn’t the same as experiencing the games live. As a journalist, I want to see every moment unfold and track live stats firsthand.
Calling basketball a “highlights-based sport” is wrong for fans to hear, especially from our own commissioner.
Even if we watch highlights on YouTube, we don’t get the full three-hour game. I want to see the misses, the turnovers and everything else that happens on the court, but highlights alone don’t show that.
The NBA should want us to enjoy the full experience. And if we’re expected to pay, why shell out for cable when we could spend even more just to attend the game in person?
The NFL now requires fans to subscribe to multiple streaming services- Prime Video, Netflix, and Peacock. All of which hold broadcast rights, with some games available exclusively on certain platforms, according to an NFL webpage.
The NBA will also begin airing games on Prime on Fridays, meaning fans would need a Prime subscription to watch both NFL and NBA games, according to an NBA webpage.
Taking us back to the days when cable promised access to everything, showing why many people turned to Streameast and why fans hesitate to pay for multiple subscriptions.
It could cost around $750 to watch every NFL game this season, according to an Aug. 28 Forbes article.
Although other streaming services are still available for fans, we don’t want this to signal the beginning of every service shutting down.