Reddit’s go-to source for streaming video links to NBA games is no more.
On Monday, the site quietly killed the popular r/NBAStreams subreddit, which gave basketball fans links to streaming video for all NBA games. There was no immediate explanation, but visitors to the page were met with a message that read “This subreddit was banned under Reddit’s Repeat Copyright Infringement Policy.”
As The Big Lead noted, the page allowed Reddit users to find free links to NBA games, though not exactly legally (and actually quite illegally). The social media site had been able to distance itself from the illegal content because it was merely serving as a host and not actually endorsing any of the sites, but Reddit has been taking a harder line on illegal content posted.
The report noted that it seemed a bit of curious timing that the subreddit was able to remain up through the entirety of the NBA Playoffs and only was taken down after the NBA Finals ended.
Fans are taking the loss fairly hard, with many congregating in a thread on the popular r/NBA to lament the loss of the free streams. Many took aim at the NBA for its backward broadcast policies that blackout in-market games for anyone buying League Pass. There are similar complaints about the MLB Network, which blocks fans from watching their hometown teams.
NBA Reddit Streams was a big part of my life in college. Sad day pic.twitter.com/oB7MGbYZWT
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) June 17, 2019
“If the NBA would remove blackouts and reduce the price, I’d gladly sign up for League Pass,” one person commented. “Why the h*** would I sign up for this service when every time I try to watch my home team it’s blacked out? The entire concept of a blackout should be f***ing illegal.”
Once a niche site when it comes to the NBA, the r/NBA subreddit has become a significant source for fans to congregate and sometimes share inside information. The site has become a feeder to many sports news outlets, which pick up on graphics or stats created and shared by the users. The page hosts Q&A sessions with players and coaches and gets regular mentions on NBA broadcasts. Some worried that the increasing stature would eventually doom the sister site in r/NBAStreams, and that day has finally come.
Oddly, the fellow Reddit popular sites r/NFLStreams and r/MLBStreams were both active as of Monday afternoon, though both could be on their way out as well since both host similarly illegal content.
