Rojadirecta.me: the site that’s saved us all with useful game links over the course of our fandom.
Little did we know, the last streams we clicked on Rojadirecta might have been the very last we’ll ever click. Distribuidora de Televisión Digital (Canal +) wants the Spain-based sports streaming site to shut down before the Clásico kickoff. AKA, tomorrow.
Canal + is arguing that Rojadirecta has infringed upon intellectual property rights. Their legal team seeks immediate action on their requests, in the hopes that their demands go into effect immediately. Rojadirecta, on the other hand, considers shutting down the site to be a “disproportionate measure,” and warns that other game links will continue to be made available on other sites.
According to SimilarWeb, Rojadirecta ranks 65th in terms of site traffic in Spain. The site attracts well over 20 million visitors per month, a number that has declined signicantly since May (40 million). It’s faced its fair share of lawsuits over the years, including a court order to stop linking certain streams following a complaint from the Professional Football League back in June, but has somehow managed to stay alive by claiming that the site itself doesn’t actually host any copyrighted material. Unfortunately, it looks like the glory days might be coming to an end.
Fútbol fanatics are driven to streaming due to the outrageous costs they often incur while trying to follow their favorite teams on TV. In Spain, it’s even crazier, with games spread across a variety of different platforms. A dozen games on Canal +, a game or two on C+ Liga, a game on Canal Plus 1 – they really don’t make it easy. It’s hard to see how shutting down a single streaming site – whether it’s the best or worst of the bunch – is really helping Spanish cable’s cause.
