Streameast has said it will appeal the United States government’s decision to seize several of its domain names.
This follows a severe crackdown by the U.S. government on the sports streaming site, a move that has sent shockwaves through the industry over copyright issues.
According to the pirate sports streaming site, which allows millions of sports lovers who visit its site to stream their favourite sporting events at no cost, it will appeal the government’s order to secure a revocation.
The sports streaming site has also shown its commitment to its users by launching new backup domains to ensure they can still access their favourite sporting events.
In a statement, Streameast operator “quick,” while speaking to newsmen, reportedly said the legitimacy of the order that led to the seizure of its domains was questionable. The operator explained that prior notice had not been sent to the team before the seizures.
Although this is not unusual, Quick explained that a copy of the order which was previously not made available to the team had been obtained after extensive efforts were made on their part.
The site operator revealed that a copy of the order was reportedly sent to the Tonic (.to) registry although it does not contain the full details and no further paperwork has been obtained to prove the legitimacy of the order.
Quick said, “[The warrant] did not provide any reasons for the shutdown, which is quite intriguing. As a result, we have doubts about the legitimacy of this decision, and we will be filing an appeal in the coming days.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), responsible for executing the seizure of the affected domains, had through a notice placed on streameast’s site, claimed that Streameast’s mode of operation violates the provisions of state laws.
The claim was backed by 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.
According to the U.S. government, Streameast, a free sports streaming site, illegally reproduces copyrighted materials by rebroadcasting live sporting events filmed by licensed paid channels.
But Streameast argues that the cost for sports streaming has become outrageous in recent time with a greater percentage of sports lovers not being able to afford the cost.
Although it clearly makes money from Ads on its domains, the streaming site frowns at the sad reality and promises to shut down operations as soon as sports streaming is made affordable to all.
Its operator “quick” says, “while we can somewhat understand the need to pay in today’s world, it’s clear that the current prices are unrealistic. If a sports fan wants to watch all sporting events, including UFC and boxing PPVs, the monthly cost is almost $1500.”
The operator also acknowledged the excesses of what can be described as “pirate streaming gangs.”
Quick explained that these pirate gangs set up fake Streameast domains and offer similar streaming services but that some of them have lost their innocence and have reverted to adding dangerous malware-linked ads to their domains while the ideal Streameast suffers allegations of criminal operation that generates revenue off the backs of companies that invest in live sports.
The streaming site seeks to clear its name off these allegations by appealing the government’s action. While this is yet to materialize, it has launched some new mirror domains for its viewers to stay connected and stream their favourite sporting events while it seeks to appeal the U.S. government’s order. Below is a list of the mirror domains.
