THE ILLEGAL STREAMING SERVICE BITPLAY HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN
The pirate service Bitplay, which, among other things, illegally provided access to premium sports television channels, live broadcasts of sports matches and selected series content, has been shut down. The service was shut down following a criminal complaint by the Association of Commercial Television (AKTV) and a subsequent investigation by the Czech Police.
The Association of Commercial Television Stations identified the pirate service Bitplay in mid-2025. Given that the operator did not cease its activities despite warnings from the legitimate copyright holders, the association's members decided to take legal action against the operator. Together with its supplier, Warezio, which monitors the occurrence of illegally shared television content for television broadcasters, AKTV prepared evidence on the basis of which the law enforcement authorities identified the operator as a natural person.
The Bitplay service, operating on the domains bitplay.my, starstreams.pro, starsites.fun and starlive.click, offered access to premium paid sports channels and broadcasts without the relevant licences from the rights holders. The service was promoted through social networks and other online channels and targeted Czech, Slovak and Polish users.
"Illegal streaming harms broadcast rights holders, sports competition partners, and athletes and sports clubs themselves. Investment in quality content is only possible in an environment where copyright is respected and protected," said Marek Singer, president of AKTV. "The action against Bitplay is another step in our systematic approach to combating the illegal distribution of our content. We will continue to actively take action against entities that unlawfully offer and monetise protected content."
In addition to the damage caused by piracy to copyright holders, the use of illegal services also poses a security risk to users. The biggest problem may be the misuse of personal or payment data, but also the unintentional downloading of various malicious software (viruses, malware, spyware, and more).
In addition to actively protecting copyrights, the Association of Commercial Television Stations has long focused on educational activities. As part of these activities, it operates an information website on copyrights, which is available at NormalneLegalne.cz. Here, interested parties will find a directory of legal sources, a glossary explaining terms related to intellectual property protection, answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ), and regular news focused on internet piracy.
