DOJ seizes 400 domains streaming World Cup in coordinated global crackdown
The US Department of Justice seized nearly 400 domains illegally streaming FIFA World Cup matches as part of Operation Offsides, disrupting international piracy networks. The action protects broadcast rights for FIFA, NBC Universal, and Warner Brothers and involved coordination with international partners in Peru, Bulgaria, and other countries.
Key Takeaways
- Nearly 400 domains seized for unauthorized real-time streaming of 2026 World Cup matches, per a seizure warrant filed June 26 in the Eastern District of Virginia.
- Coordinated international actions targeted servers and domains in Peru and Bulgaria, with additional ICHIP-supported disruptions in Croatia, Romania, Poland, and Colombia.
- FIFA, NBC Universal, Warner Brothers, beIN Media Group, ACE, and UFC all provided identifying information supporting the seizures.
- HSI agents warned that illegal streaming sites expose viewers to malware and data-compromise risks alongside copyright violations.
- Since 2020, the DOJ's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section has secured over 180 convictions and court orders for $350 million in victim restitution.
Why It Matters
The seizure operation signals that US authorities are treating live sports piracy as a priority enforcement area during major hosted events, not just a civil matter for rights holders. With World Cup 2026 matches drawing record streaming audiences — Peacock and Telemundo averaged 2.3 million Average Minute Audience viewers through the first 40 matches, up 277% from 2022, per TV Tech — the stakes for rights holders like NBC Universal and Warner Brothers are substantial. Watch whether the DOJ follows through on prosecuting individual operators, not just seizing domains, as the Criminal Division explicitly stated it would seek prosecutions "where appropriate."
Additional Context
The DOJ action follows a series of major anti-piracy operations ahead of and during the 2026 World Cup. In June 2026, per Dexerto, Europol and Bulgaria's General Directorate Combating Organised Crime concluded Operation Kratos 2, a seven-month investigation that removed over 27,000 illegal streaming URLs, identified 4,370 piracy-related domains, and resulted in 29 arrests across 13 countries. The operation ran from September 2025 to April 2026 and targeted criminal networks distributing unauthorized sports, film, and TV content.
ACE, which provided intelligence to the DOJ for Operation Offsides, has been independently active. On June 24, 2026, ACE announced it had disrupted a PirloTV-linked sports piracy ring in coordination with UEFA and Mexican authorities, shutting down 44 domains that collectively attracted more than 950 million visits annually, per TorrentFreak. Earlier, in September 2025, ACE and DAZN shut down Calcio, a Moldova-based sports streaming network that logged 123 million visits across 134 domains and was Italy's most-visited illicit sports streaming site, per ACE.
The enforcement pressure comes as streaming viewership for the World Cup hits record levels. Telemundo and Peacock reported an Average Minute Audience of 2.3 million viewers through the first 40 matches, up 277% from the same stage in 2022, with 26.2 billion total minutes consumed already surpassing the entirety of the 2022 tournament's Spanish-language coverage, per TV Tech, June 2026. However, Telemundo revised its early viewership figures downward by 25–29% after combining Nielsen linear data with Adobe Analytics streaming numbers, raising questions about measurement methodology, per Sports Media Watch, June 2026.
Read full article at advanced-television.com
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