The Risky Business of Illegal Streams

EPISODE 162: Ugly George.

I should say, up front here, that I am not scandalized in the least by the reality that millions upon millions of people illegally stream sporting events.

The motive is obvious: leagues are raking in billions of dollars — as are the tech and media companies who pay them for the exclusive rights to broadcast those games — and it is typically both more expensive and more difficult than ever to watch the thing you’ve been watching for your entire life: a game.

Piracy — frictionless, free, and a fuck-you — is therefore predictable.

Leagues also claim that it is a problem worth tens of billions of dollars.

And so what I wanted to bring you today, on this edition of The Sporting Class, is the candid perspective of two people who have monitored and been undermined by the boom in illegal streaming: Meadowlark Media co-founder John Skipper (former head of both ESPN and sports-streaming company DAZN) and Nothing Personal’s David Samson (former president of the Miami Marlins).

What I didn’t expect to get to was Channel J.

DKN/YOUTUBE SPOILER ALERT:

Legally,

Pablo