Few things are better than the feeling of grabbing your device and switching on your favorite team’s big game. We love to dress up and cheer on our favorite players, but the reality is the way we think we’re showing our support may actually be causing more harm than good. More and more, sports fans are either deliberately or unwittingly turning to illegal sports streaming sites to get their fix, and it’s becoming a major concern for the industry.
Intentionally or not, choosing authorized platforms to view sports undermines legitimate viewership and revenue streams. Join us at StreamSafely as we pour over the alarming illegal sports streaming statistics that every sports fan and industry stakeholder should be aware of.
The Prevalence of Illegal Sports Streaming and Financial Impact
As much as the sports industry seems to be thriving, it’s actually experiencing an existential threat. According to OpSec, a staggering 40% of sports fans globally engage in illegal streaming. January 2019 alone saw 362 million visits to sports piracy websites. These illegal streams are costing licensed live sports broadcasters and legitimate streaming services worldwide as much as $28 billion annually, according to Synamedia and Ampere Analysis.
While the U.S. is lower than the global average, more than one in 10 Americans admitted to using some form of illegal streaming service in 2022. However, the trend is on the rise. According to Harvard Business Review, 35% of respondents admitted to regularly using pirate streams to watch NFL content in 2023.
This growth is due in part to the ever-increasing streaming fees, with 48% of respondents citing price as the main reason for seeking out pirated content. Free sports content from known illegal streaming platforms has therefore become a tempting alternative.
Sports teams, leagues, and broadcasters rely heavily on legitimate viewership and subscription revenue to sustain their operations — including player recruitment and stadium maintenance. When this revenue is diverted to illegal streaming platforms, it undermines the industry’s financial stability, ultimately impacting the fan experience and the long-term sustainability of the industry as a whole.
Most Illegally Streamed Sports & Sporting Events
It should come as no surprise that the most popular sports in the U.S. are also the ones that are illegally streamed the most. In a survey of 1,000 people, All About Cookies found that 62% pirated NFL content, 43% pirated NBA content, and 29% pirated MLB content. The piracy tracking firm VFT Solutions estimated that the Super Bowl LVIII alone was watched by 17 million viewers on illegal live streams.
However, in a study by Synamedia and reported by TorrentFreak, soccer was the No. 1 most pirated sport in virtually every country or region observed, with the notable exception of India, where cricket was more popular.
If you are a fan of one of these major sports, StreamSafely has the resources you need to get the best viewing experience possible without turning to piracy. Engaging with unauthorized websites can expose you to malware and can come with steep legal consequences. But we have created a comprehensive database of the best legal online streaming services you can use to watch football, basketball, baseball, and soccer — and more — so that you never have to put yourself at risk of phishing scams or having your personal data collected just to catch a game. We’ve even put together a complete guide for the 2024-25 NFL season so you can get in on the action!
Geographical Hotspots for Illegal Sports Streaming
Certain countries around the world tend to embrace illegal sports streaming more than others. In developing nations, the cause may be linked more directly to lack of accessibility, whereas in America, the main single consideration is the price of legal options.
According to keyword research performed by Sporting Post that focused on search intent and the appearance of known illegal sports streaming websites in user queries, Jamaica leads the world in digital piracy, with 10,797 searches for illegal sports streams per 100,000 internet users. Qatar and the UAE follow distantly with 5,221 and 4,529 searches, respectively.
However, keyword data may not tell the complete story, especially if users are altering their apparent location by using a VPN. Although Jamaica was a major player in search query investigations, the occurrence of searches for illegal sites was only 10.8% — putting it solidly in the lower third of reported cases of piracy across Europe.
As Statista shows, Bulgaria led the European continent in 2023, with 21% of respondents admitting to using illegal online sources to watch sports. As mentioned, that number within the U.S. was reported to be 11% in 2022. Other major perpetrators in Europe were Greece at 20%, and Ireland and Spain tied at 19%.
While these numbers are specific to sports streaming, StreamSafley’s proprietary research in 2022 showed that the U.S., Russia, China, and India had the largest number of yearly visits to media piracy sites overall.
Demographic & Age Breakdown of Illegal Streamers
The demographic profile of illegal sports streamers is also revealing. According to data compiled in 2017 by the U.K.’s The Guardian, 54% of millennials watched illegal streams of live sporting events, with a third doing so regularly. On the other hand, only 4% of the older cohort, presumably Gen X, had done the same.
By 2024, millennials still were the principal group engaging in illegal sports streaming, hitting a high of 64% of respondents for that age range.
Methods of Illegal Streaming
Unauthorized sports streaming functions similarly to how illegal streaming websites work. It can be facilitated through illegitimate websites, social media platforms, illegal streaming devices, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. These methods allow users to access and share sports content without paying the required subscription fees or purchasing tickets.
One particularly concerning trend is the rise of IPTV services, which bundle together a wide range of live and on-demand content, including sports — often for a fraction of the cost of alternative subscriptions. According to Fortune Business Insights, in 2023, the IPTV market was valued at $68.78 billion and is expected to grow to $276.38 billion by 2032.
However, while some IPTV services are legal, not all of them are. These companies still need the proper broadcasting rights and licensing to deliver sports content or other entertainment, and it can be hard to tell whether or not they do. Like other illegal streaming sites, unlicensed IPTV can be riddled with pop-up ads and lack overall transparency when it comes to legal disclaimers.
Another growing concern is the use of social media platforms to distribute illegal sports streams. Fans may share links or embed streams directly on their social media pages, which can spread virally across the platform. This rapid increase of likes, shares, and reposts makes it challenging for sports leagues and broadcasters to monitor and take down these unauthorized streams in a timely manner.
In December 2022 alone, Facebook received 657,000 complaints of copyright infringement and removed 81.31% of the content in question. In June 2024, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, joined forces with UEFA to combat online piracy on social media platforms.
How StreamSafely Can Help You Avoid Illegal Streaming
Illegal sports streaming has become a growing concern for the sports industry, with millions of fans putting themselves at risk and billions of dollars on the line. Understanding the scope of the problem, as well as the risks and consequences of illegal streaming, can help sports fans recognize the common signs of piracy sites and learn how to protect against online threats.
At StreamSafely, we are committed to online security and anti-piracy education. We’ve created a comprehensive sports database that you can use to look up your favorite sport or upcoming event and see exactly where you can access it online legally. By arming sports fans with the knowledge and tools to make informed choices, we hope to contribute to the overall effort to combat illegal sports streaming and preserve the integrity of the industry.
Together, we can bring about the decline of illegal sports streaming and usher in a new era of professional sports — so join us in the revolution. Happy streaming!
