For many who don’t subscribe to a Live TV Streaming Service, one of the ways fans watch their favorite team is to turn to Reddit for illegal streams. One of the more popular communities for NBA fans, /r/nbastreams was shut down yesterday just a week after the end of the NBA season.
The message on Reddit says, “This subreddit was banned under Reddit’s Repeat Copyright Infringement Policy.” Similar subreddits for other sports like, /r/nflstreams, /r/mlbstreams, /r/nhlstreams have yet to be shutdown. In a statement from the NBA, the league said, “We work with our vendors to identify and protect against pirated live streams of our games. Platforms shutting down repeat infringers is critical to this process.”
The NBA has been one of the most progressive in offering low cost streaming for fans. Besides NBA League Pass, their out-of-market package — this year, they launch the ability to buy out-of-market broadcasts at the end of the first quarter ($4.99), first half ($2.99), and third quarter ($1.99). In March, they rolled out the 10-Minute Pass, which allows you to stream 10 minutes of any out-of-market game for just $0.99.
However, while there are many options for out-of-market fans, for fans of some teams — there are still limited options to watch their favorite team locally. In the last two years, most regional sports networks have become available to streaming services — but even some superstars like Lebron James can’t be streamed by local fans.
All but three NBA teams can have their games streamed locally with streaming services. However, those on independent RSNs like Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles Lakers), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah Jazz), and Altitude (Denver Nuggets) haven’t kept up with the trend. So, for now, without /r/nbastreams — fans will have to look elsewhere to watch the games.