A knockout blow to sports piracy. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world's largest anti-piracy coalition, in coordination with sports streaming giant DAZN , has shut down the servers of "Calcio," one of Italy's most popular and trafficked illegal streaming platforms.
The closure followed a joint investigation, culminating in the forced cooperation of the site's Moldovan-based operator, who agreed to cease all operations.
The numbers behind the phenomenon were staggering: in the last year, the “Calcio” domain network recorded over 123 million visits globally, more than 6 million of which per month came from Italy alone, where the site was the illegal reference point for fans.
80% of total traffic came from our country, with small percentages from Spain, the United States, Germany, and France.
The illicit offering was enormous. The platform offered live, unauthorized coverage of the major European football leagues (Serie A, Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1), all UEFA club competitions (Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League), international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and the European Championship, as well as NBA, Formula 1, MotoGP, and tennis.
“Shutting down illegal businesses like 'Calcio' is crucial to protecting honest fans, safeguarding jobs in the sports industry, and preserving the value and integrity of live sport,” said Ed McCarthy, COO of DAZN Group. “This decisive action has prevented further damage to the well-being of the entire sports ecosystem.”
The shutdown, which occurred at the start of the new Italian football season, has significant symbolic significance. "Piracy erodes the commercial value of a sports broadcast well before the final whistle, damaging broadcasters, leagues, and fans," said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).
All 134 domains associated with "Calcio" have been transferred to ACE and now redirect users to ACE's "Watch Legally" portal, which promotes legal streaming platforms. This move marks a significant success in the fight against piracy, but highlights the pervasive demand for low-cost sports content and the need for an increasingly competitive legal offering.
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