NFL Players Can No Longer Stream Games for Free on Streameast

Streaming service add-ons for sports fans can quickly rack up in price, and though there are some affordable options, committed NFL fans are looking at a hefty monthly subscription fee to keep up with all of the games this football season. There are some free (and technically not legal) options fans have found — but one of the most popular options is no longer available.

But it seems like Streameast, the free platform that one made it possible for sports fans to watch some of their favorite games live (without committing to a monthly subscription) has been taken down. What happened to Streameast?

Unfortunately, those who tried to open the Streameast website (or any of its relevant domain names) found that they weren't able to, as they were met with a notice from the U.S. government the "domain has been seized."

"This domain name has been seized by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) pursuant to a warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana under the authority of, inter alia, Title 18, United States Code, Section 2323," the notice reads.

The notice also came with a reminder that "first-time offenders convicted of a criminal felony copyright violation face up to five years in prison, fines, restitution, and forfeiture."

It seems that those who were hoping to stream the upcoming NFL season without committing to a monthly subscription will have to look elsewhere. Though some on Reddit claim that at least one of the domain names is still effective, it seems the U.S. government is cracking down on the site. Streaming and consuming pirated content is illegal under U.S. law, and as the government seems to be aware of the site now, it's likely all other currently active domains will be seized too.