Watching the shows and sports Bearcats love has become all the more difficult across recent years, with various subscription platforms needed to watch said media. Due to this subscription dilemma, many students at PRHS have turned to using unofficial websites to enjoy their entertainment.
For many, the issue has become that they will buy themselves a streaming service to watch their favorite team, just to realize that the very next week, they have to buy another.
“I think the biggest issue is how [streaming platforms] operate, a lot of their practices give a negative influence for their consumers, such as Netflix taking away shows and movies every now and then, “ junior Alexander Partida Sandoval said.
“Yes, I think that streaming companies have forced a lot of people to pirate instead of buying their services. Consumers that aren’t typically willing to pay a good sum of money, turn to piracy as it’s a ‘free’ alternative and very easy to find those sorts of sites.” Alexander Partida Sandoval, 11
Netflix continues to take away shows and movies due to expiring licensing agreements with studios, something that many like Partida Sandoval have taken issue with. It begs the question: why spend money on something that can’t guarantee stability, especially when it’s there for free?
This NFL season, the league has forced viewers to stream games across ten different platforms if they don’t want to miss a game, including but not limited to, CBS, FOX, ESPN, and Amazon Prime Video. The popular racing series NASCAR is also stretched across five different networks this season, with each streaming service getting a piece of the calendar, forcing viewers to reach deep into their pockets in order to keep up across the season.
In turn, many people have looked to illegal streaming platforms in order to still watch what they want, minus the subscription.
“Having to buy so many subscriptions for different sports feels like a waste of time and money when free streaming websites are available that have all movies and sports,” senior Manuel Nevarez said.
Streameast, a website that went viral for its free streaming of almost every notable sports event worldwide, was for an extended period, the largest of any illegal streaming service. The landmark streaming company had reportedly drawn 136 million average monthly visits, but was shut down in August of 2025 after Egyptian authorities arrested two men on suspicion of operating the website. This is believed to be a large win in the battle against sports piracy, and may indicate a more serious approach to these sites in the coming months.
These websites generate serious revenue as well, with the collective revenues reaching nine or ten figures, according to piracy monitoring firm MUSO. This generally comes from the use of cheap ads and pop up ads, which may not make small sites very much money, but allows the sites that have been popularized through the use of both social media and word of mouth to instead utilize these cheap advertisements as a massive moneymaker based on the internet traffic they receive.
“The biggest issue with streaming platforms currently is the limited variety. Some platforms offer only one sport or program where certain streaming sites offer many movies and sports.”
Manuel Nevarez, 12
It’s a given that these massive corporations will look to take down any domain that is illegally streaming their copyrighted content. Unlicensed streaming is the predominant source of TV and film piracy and in 2024, visits to online piracy websites reached 1.6 billion views annually, according to MUSO. But are those who actually view the streams in danger?
Yes, it’s true that viewers can be fined as a result of viewing content on these websites, but it’s rare that companies will go after the actual viewers of the content. Yet, there’s still the issue of dealing with data theft, hackers, and viruses that make these sites a weighted risk. For many, this may be a risk they believe in, but it isn’t the ideal alternative to streaming services.
