StreamTime Sports Inside the world of illegal sports streaming
Nov 19, 2025
Adam Leventhal, a senior writer and broadcaster at The Athletic, dives deep into the world of illegal sports streaming, revealing insights from his extensive investigations. He discusses how fans have normalized piracy, driven by cost and convenience. Leventhal explains the evolution of illegal streaming from physical media to digital solutions like VPNs and Firesticks. They also examine the impact on sports broadcasting, focusing on UK's 3PM blackout and the piratical threats to commercial deals, together outlining potential paths for reform in the industry.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Piracy Is Culturally Normalized
- Illegal streaming has become culturally normalized and fans openly admit using Firesticks and IPTV services.
- Adam Leventhal found fans willing to describe methods and motivations, showing prevalence and low stigma.
Buying A Pirated Service Is Frictionless
- Adam bought illegal streaming services and found marketplaces, WhatsApp numbers, and easy setup for IPTV on devices.
- He discovered reseller and affiliate schemes that made piracy resemble organized commercial operations.
Platform Changes Reduce But Don’t End Piracy
- Amazon updated Fire TV to block sideloaded piracy apps and remove easier developer access on new devices.
- Millions of older sticks remain vulnerable, so the problem will persist despite Amazon's changes.