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In a significant blow to digital piracy, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and sports streaming platform DAZN have successfully shut down Calcio, one of the world's largest illegal sports streaming operations. The platform reportedly drew a staggering 123 million visits over the past year across 134 domains, with over 80% of its traffic originating from Italy, where it reigned as the top sports piracy site.

Calcio offered unauthorized access to a vast array of premium live sports, including:
* Major European football leagues (Serie A, Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1)
* UEFA club competitions (Champions League, Europa League)
* FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO championships
* NBA basketball
* Formula 1 and MotoGP
* Major tennis tournaments

"Shutting down illegal operations like Calcio is vital for protecting fans, safeguarding jobs, and preserving the value and integrity of live sports," stated Ed McCarthy, COO of DAZN Group. "ACE and DAZN's decisive action... has prevented further harm to the wellbeing of the sports ecosystem." Larissa Knapp, Executive VP at the Motion Picture Association (MPA), emphasized the broader damage: "Piracy diminishes the commercial value of a live sports broadcast well before the final whistle blows, harming broadcasters, sports leagues, and fans alike."

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Calcio domains now redirect to ACE's anti-piracy resource site. (Image: BleepingComputer)

The operation's Moldova-based operator agreed to cease all activities after being approached by ACE and DAZN. All associated domains have been transferred to ACE and now redirect visitors to the coalition's "Watch Legally" website. This takedown underscores the increasing sophistication and global coordination in combating large-scale digital piracy.

ACE, a coalition of over 50 major media and entertainment companies including Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Apple TV+, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros. Discovery, frequently collaborates with global law enforcement (like the U.S. DoJ, Europol, and Interpol). This victory follows other major ACE-led operations in 2025:
1. The shutdown of Streameast, claimed to be the world's largest illegal live sports network.
2. The takedown of Rare Breed TV, an illegal IPTV service offering 28,000+ channels and 100,000+ movies/series.
3. The seven-year prison sentence for Kristopher Lee Dallmann, ringleader of the massive Jetflicks pirate streaming operation.

The dismantling of Calcio represents more than just closing a website; it's a critical defense of the economic model underpinning live sports broadcasting. As piracy networks grow in scale and technical complexity, the collaboration between rights holders, streaming platforms, and international enforcement agencies becomes increasingly essential to sustain the multi-billion dollar ecosystem that delivers premium sports content to legitimate viewers worldwide. The redirected domains serve as a stark digital tombstone and a warning to similar operations.