UEFA Europa League stream shutdown: Millions to be blocked watching for free tonight

[Len]

THE LATEST anti-piracy measures from UEFA, designed to tackle free, illegal streams of Champions League matches, have come into force this week.

New anti-piracy measures from UEFA will stop football fans streaming tonight’s Europa League match for free.

The new block has been put in place by UEFA and aims to stop matches being streamed via online players without permission from the rights holders.

It is also likely to stop anyone watching via illicit streaming boxes, like those powered by Kodi.

The high court order to instantly block streams was awarded to UEFA late last year, however, it only came into force today.

Some of the UK's biggest Internet Service Providers, or ISP, including BT, Virgin Media, and Sky, have been told they have to take immediate action and block any illicit streams of UEFA matches.

This new ruling comes after the Premier League also gained a legal right to block streams being broadcast over the Web.

In a written decision the court ruling said: "The UEFA competitions are very popular with television viewers in the UK.

“This year's Champions League final attracted several million viewers.

"Uefa's evidence establishes that it owns the copyright in television broadcasts of all matches in the Uefa competitions, and in films (particularly replays), artistic works and musical works which are incorporated within those broadcasts.

"The rights are very valuable. BT currently pays approximately £360 million each season for these rights together with the rights in respect of the Uefa Super Cup."

Speaking about the new block, Detective Sergeant Kevin Ives, of the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), said: “Now that the Premier League and UEFA have both secured high court blocking orders allowing them to shut off illegal streams at source, it has made it more difficult for the public to find illegal streams of premium sport online.

“This is just one of many developments that have made it much more difficult for those who try to watch sport illegally online.

"Consumers are putting themselves at unnecessary risk of fraud by purchasing and using illegal streaming boxes, even more so if the content they try and watch is being effectively blocked.”

Software like Kodi, which enables users to stream content from the internet, have become increasingly popular over the last few years, with an estimated five million UK homes now using illicit set-top boxes powered by Kodi to access content.

Kodi is a neutral, open-source media player that can be installed on a broad range of devices – from discount set-top boxes powered by Android, to known brands, like Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Apps – known as add-ons – can be built by third-party developers to allow users to stream premium content, like paid-for sports and movie channels for free.

The abundance of these illegal streaming add-ons has left Kodi with an unfortunate reputation.

So-called Kodi Boxes are devices, manufactured by a number of different brands, with all the requisite third-party software to stream paid-for content for free preinstalled on the set-top box.

A recent survey revealed that 70 per cent – some 28 million – of Kodi users stream content illegally.

However, with more blocks coming into force everyday it seems it’s getting harder for users to watch without paying for a subscription.

Matthew Hibbert, Head of Litigation for Sky TV, described the impact of server blocks – like those now implemented by UEFA – as “huge”.

Speaking at the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) Conference in Macau, Mr Hibbert said: “In terms of the impact on piracy, server blocking has been huge.

“Live streams of the Premier League can no longer be easily found in the UK.”

Explaining more to Express.co.uk, Mr Hibbert confirmed: “We estimate that Internet service providers are now blocking the majority of pirated Premier League streams.”

The UEFA order will take effect from February 13 and last until May 26.