Kodi Premier League match pirates to be BANNED by ISPs

[Len]

Fans attempting to stream live football matches illegally through services like Kodi will be banned by their internet providers.

The move - which comes amid an ongoing battle by the Premier League to eradicate piracy from the sport - comes after a landmark ruling on Wednesday, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Internet service providers (ISP) have been ordered by the High Court to prevent people from watching Premier League games for the 2017-18 season.

The news is a devastating blow to thousands of football fans who obtain the footage via the illicit sale and use of pre-loaded IPTV and Kodi boxes, reports the BBC.

It now means your ISP will likely ban thousands of server IP addresses that have been caught streaming Premier League content.

Kodi has been the subject of a mass of legal pressure over the last few months even though the neutral software has nothing to do with piracy. It is a free way of distributing content that has become the preferred choice for third-party apps illegally streaming copyrighted material.

Rights holders have begun to work with internet service providers to try and stamp out the spread of pirate streams by threatening legal action against those who supply them. As a result, several well-known Kodi add-ons have been taken offline.

More than a third of Premier League football fans watch live matches on illegal internet streams once a month, according to a survey.

The poll by BBC Radio 5 live found that nearly half of the 1,000 fans questioned online had streamed matches illegally at least once through a service other than Sky or BT Sport, which hold the rights to broadcast games live in the UK.

Kieron Sharp, director general of the Federation against Copyright Theft (Fact), said a ruling in April by the European Court of Justice made the law on streaming paid-for content clear.

He told the broadcaster: "People need to be aware that this is no longer a grey area, in fact it is very black and white.

"If you are accessing content for free such as sport, TV and films for which you'd normally need a subscription, or go to the cinema, or buy a DVD, this is illegal.

"As the old saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is."

A Premier League spokesman told the BBC: "Fans should know that these pre-loaded boxes enable pirate broadcasts of Premier League football, and other popular content, and are illegal.

"People who supply them have been jailed or ordered to pay significant financial penalties.

"We are increasingly seeing prominent apps and add-ons being closed down as the law catches up with them leading to consumers being out of pocket.

"The Premier League will continue to protect its copyright, and the legitimate investment made by its broadcasting partners."