Feds in NY shut down 16 sports streaming websites

[Jokeray]

Feds in NY shut down 16 sports streaming websites
Feb 2, 4:09 pm EST
By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP)—With the Super Bowl days away, federal authorities announced a crackdown Thursday on websites that stream unauthorized broadcasts of sports events just hours after New England quarterback Tom Brady told reporters in Indianapolis that he watched last year’s game on an illegal site.

Investigators seized 16 sites and brought criminal charges against a Michigan man who controlled nine of them.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara warned sports fans in a release that piracy costs sports leagues and broadcasters millions of dollars, forcing increases in ticket prices and other costs to consumers.

His message came soon after Brady casually mentioned his own use of illegal websites during a news conference staged in preparation for the Super Bowl on Sunday between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

“Last year I was rehabbing my foot in Costa Rica, watching the game on an illegal Super Bowl website. And now I’m actually playing in the game. So, it’s pretty cool,” Brady said.

Web operator Yonjo Quiroa, of Comstock Park, Mich., was charged Wednesday with copyright infringement. Prosecutors said he distributed football, basketball and hockey games and wrestling matches.

Quiroa appeared in federal court in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Wednesday. He was held without bail while his immigration status was under review. Larry Phelan, his lawyer, declined to comment.

In court papers, authorities said Quiroa registered nine of the 16 seized domain names in 2010 and 2011 before operating the websites out of his home, collecting profits of at least $13,000 from online merchants who paid him to advertise on the sites.

Authorities said the prosecution was part of a continuing federal effort to target counterfeiting and piracy on the Internet.

Also in Indianapolis, federal authorities said they seized nearly $5 million worth of phony Super Bowl sportswear and merchandise in a nationwide sweep that was the result of a four-month investigation.

Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection said agents targeted stores, flea markets and street vendors that allegedly sold counterfeit game-related sportswear. Fake jerseys, ball caps, T-shirts, jackets and other souvenirs were among the 42,000 items confiscated in Operation Fake Sweep.

Authorities put the total take at more than $4.8 million, up from $3.7 million last year.

Also seized were counterfeit Major League Baseball, NBA and NHL items worth about $1.6 million.

saw the list of sites they shut down yesterday, and I know that firstrowsports.com was one that got axed. I know that's one i've seen listed out here as a "where to watch" thing.

good thing i know of a few others that weren't on the list.

[jedema]

They also nailed one over by Grand Rapids. Looks like the feds are cracking down prior to the game.

[Rusty Hilger]

I can see where this might be important for a product that derives it's revenue solely from the sale of the product.

But for a medium that is supported by advertising revenue ... it would just make so much more sense to just throw the games up online somewhere so people don't have to watch illegally.

That way, the owners of the material can track how many more people are viewing, and sell those viewers to the advertisers for more $$. They could even do something dumb like make the user sign up for a newsletter in order to watch ... giving them more email marketing opportunities to sell discounted merchandise.

So not only does this seem unnecessarily oppressive ... it's jut dumb from a business sense. All of these people viewing the games illegally ... should be pointing to yet another potential revenue source. Just plain dumb. The NFL have just turned in to an amazing bunch of bufoons with no business sense ... no marketing sense ... and no respect for the game.

[goldenlions]

So does this mean that those guys who always ask for a stream are screwed now?

But i guess they have another 9 months to figure out how to outsmart the feds again.

[Schuxu]

The NFL does stream their games online it just costs 180$ for the whole season.
The ad market is a little different. I'm prety sure the companies advertising during the game dont mind the streams, but all the companies that dont, they mind the additional free viewers for their competitors.

[goldenlions]

I can see where this might be important for a product that derives it's revenue solely from the sale of the product.

But for a medium that is supported by advertising revenue ... it would just make so much more sense to just throw the games up online somewhere so people don't have to watch illegally.

That way, the owners of the material can track how many more people are viewing, and sell those viewers to the advertisers for more $$. They could even do something dumb like make the user sign up for a newsletter in order to watch ... giving them more email marketing opportunities to sell discounted merchandise.

So not only does this seem unnecessarily oppressive ... it's jut dumb from a business sense. All of these people viewing the games illegally ... should be pointing to yet another potential revenue source. Just plain dumb. The NFL have just turned in to an amazing bunch of bufoons with no business sense ... no marketing sense ... and no respect for the game.


That is a good point.

What is the difference if you are watching a program online or through your locally cable or satellite provider or over the air? The difference is that you have to pay to see those games you can't get locally, that is why they do it, and why it is illegal. I am surprised that the NFL hasn't gone all PPV all the time yet.

[Jokeray]

some people found these sites helpful because paying for teh sunday ticket is CRAZY money.

Lions season tickets would be cheaper, I think.

what might have been cool was when people would stream the lions games on their laptop through these sites, then linked the laptop to the 42 inch tv.

yeah, that might have been cool!

[def]

Wikipedia was shut down for a minute. Pissed me off because I was in an argument with someone about mutual funds and CD's and needed quick info to back me up. (Another starry night of 80 proof philosophy, which was kind of like the McLaughlin Group on crack).

My proponent's side was that mutual funds are a relic. I disagreed due to the state of the economy and that baby boomers are approaching retirement age only to find that they aren't financially well off as they had hoped. The mutual funds contained in their 401(k)s didn't produce enough income to allow them to retire comfortably.

My argument was that because 401(k)s and other retirement vehicles only allow participants to invest in mutual funds, unless the fund has a self-directed option, finding the most efficient fund is the key to getting maximum efficiency and thus a key factor in why funds will always be available as long as jobs keep offering employees this option, which they still do.

Like an ETF, index mutual funds are passively managed funds with low expenses. Basically he told me I was full of shit, because CD's were more stable. Ended up agreeing to disagree before copious shots and poker.

Salu

[Jokeray]

The NFL does stream their games online it just costs 180$ for the whole season.


what's the link to that? i know they stream games that have already been played for a fee, but I didn't know they streamed live games?

[LAW]

.

what might have been cool was when people would stream the lions games on their laptop through these sites, then linked the laptop to the 42 inch tv.

In the days of the blackouts I may have done that.

I think the NFL looks down on this because someone else is doing this without the NFL making any additional money off of it. As others have stated, it actually reduces the number of people that pay for Sunday Ticket. I know NBC usually streamed the games on Sunday night, and I'm sure they would rather have people watching its stream because all the additional advertising that can be sold. I think NBC is streaming the Super Bowl this year, not sure if it is restricted only to the US.

[Schuxu]

what's the link to that? i know they stream games that have already been played for a fee, but I didn't know they streamed live games?

https://gamepass.nfl.com/nflgp/secure/packages

I've got that this year. Very good quality but lags 30 secs or so. But I'm going to keep it. Not that much other options here in Germany.

[USNinc]

what's the link to that? i know they stream games that have already been played for a fee, but I didn't know they streamed live games?

I don't think they stream ANY games live.
All their streams are usually 24 hours after the game and has all the commercials edited out.

It only cost me 39 for the entire season....
Don't know what the 180 is about.

[Jokeray]

In the days of the blackouts I may have done that.

I think the NFL looks down on this because someone else is doing this without the NFL making any additional money off of it. As others have stated, it actually reduces the number of people that pay for Sunday Ticket. I know NBC usually streamed the games on Sunday night, and I'm sure they would rather have people watching its stream because all the additional advertising that can be sold. I think NBC is streaming the Super Bowl this year, not sure if it is restricted only to the US.

well, in this down economy, most people look down at the ass raping of almost $400 for a season of nfl sunday ticket.

[Jokeray]

[QUOTE=USNinc;449604]I don't think they stream ANY games live.
All their streams are usually 24 hours after the game and has all the commercials edited out.

It only cost me 39 for the entire season....
Don't know what the 180 is about.[/QUOTE

would LOVE to do that, but I can't wait 24 hours.

[Rusty Hilger]

What's really gay is that, for all of these people who don't want to shell out for Sunday ticket ... that's not only extra revenue the NFL isn't getting for the subscription, but extra revenue they miss out on for advertising.

Doing what they're doing is just a nice "lose-lose" situation they've got going on there, isn't it?

Do they honestly, seriously, think that people like to watch the crappy streams? Like they could have afforded Sunday ticket ... but instead made the conscious decision of "Who needs Sunday Ticket when I can watch these crappy-looking, choppy, stuttering broadcasts on the interwebs!?" Does the NFL really think that's competition?

[badnews3123]

I couldn't get Direct TV at my new place so i used streams for a handful of games that weren't on locally here or I didn't go to the bar.

Ive had the Ticket before, it's nice but it's really expensive. They should offer team packages, pay a certain amount for all of a teams games.

I will say NFL Rewind is worth more than $30 I paid.

[jedema]

Did the rewind this past year because I didn't get to watch the broadcasts because I was at most of the home games.

Joker... my season tickets cost me $500 per seat... so no, Sunday ticket is cheaper.

[Fireball]

hey just find someone you guys can depend on and use a slingbox? I havn't tried it but from the advertising I here about it should be legal?

[IrishBear]

Problem is, Sunday Ticket has no direct competitor. Direct TV Can jack the price as high as they want and fuck the viewer. I hate DirectTV with a passion, they tried to drop me and send me off to collections because they said I didn't pay 3 months of service. I found it odd they allowed me to continue service, and my bank statements showing them automatically withdrawing from my account proved otherwise. It took me almost 6 months to get the issue resolved.

[Schuxu]

I don't think they stream ANY games live.
All their streams are usually 24 hours after the game and has all the commercials edited out.

It only cost me 39 for the entire season....
Don't know what the 180 is about.

No they stream any games live, also a lot of shows. And you can watch archived versions of every game, either in very condensed form (just the plays, takes about 20 minutes per game) or a version without ads.
Might not work in the US though.

[goldenlions]

well, in this down economy, most people look down at the ass raping of almost $400 for a season of nfl sunday ticket.

The way I look at it, nobody forced you to choose where to live. So basically, it comes down to what is more important, watching the Lions play on Sunday or getting rid of something that you pay for that is unnecessary.

Everyone wants something for free.

But if you really know someone you trust who gets the NFL Sunday Ticket, you could ask them to add the Mobile-To-Go option to their account ($50 a season) and then you can stream all the games live on your laptop or smartphone.

I have this service because sometimes I not at home on Sundays and then I can just stream the game on my phone.

[goldenlions]

No they stream any games live, also a lot of shows. And you can watch archived versions of every game, either in very condensed form (just the plays, takes about 20 minutes per game) or a version without ads.
Might not work in the US though.


This is only available outside of the US.

[LionNation]

NFL.com is streaming the SB tonight for free.

[LAW]

hey just find someone you guys can depend on and use a slingbox? I havn't tried it but from the advertising I here about it should be legal?

I have a couple of friends that use slingbox and are pretty happy with it. The box costs around $300 and then there is a monthly fee...about $20 I think. You have complete access to the persons cable.

[Felix]

Slingbox makes you pay now? Huh...the selling point used to be that there were no monthly fees...

[LAW]

Slingbox makes you pay now? Huh...the selling point used to be that there were no monthly fees...

I thought there was, but checked and I guess not.