The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and DAZN’s anti-piracy team have shut down Calcio which streamed unlicensed content from its base in Moldova.
The operator of the service agreed to cease operations after being approached by the ACE-DAZN team.
Calcio drew more than 123 million visits in the past 12 months across 134 domains. With over 6 million monthly visits from Italy alone, it was the most popular sports streaming website in the country.
The service provided unauthorised access to premium sports content including top European football leagues such as Serie A, Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1; UEFA club competitions including Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League; international competitions such as FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO; basketball leagues including the NBA; motorsports (including Formula 1 and Moto GP), tennis matches, and more.
“Shutting down illegal operations like Calcio is vital for protecting fans, safeguarding jobs, and preserving the value and integrity of live sports,” said Ed McCarthy, COO of DAZN Group. “ACE and DAZN’s decisive action in removing this site has prevented further harm to the wellbeing of the sports ecosystem.”
Eighty percent of the traffic came from Italy, with smaller percentages originating from Spain, the United States, Germany, and France.
“Piracy diminishes the commercial value of a live sports broadcast well before the final whistle blows, harming broadcasters, sports leagues, and fans alike,” said Larissa Knapp,
Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer for the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “With the start of the Italian football season, I commend the team for the timely takedown of this notorious operation.”
All Calcio domains have been transferred to ACE and are now redirected to ACE’s Watch Legally site.
