Kodi Premier League streams blocked leaving confused users watching blank screens
Anti-piracy efforts have been stepped up this season
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Large numbers of Kodi box users were left frustrated over the weekend, having been unable to watch any Premier League games for free.
Several illegal streams of matches reportedly went down shortly after going live, causing confusion and anger as users were met by blank screens instead of the live Premier League action they’d been expecting to be able to tune into.
The Premier League has stepped up its blocking efforts, and is expected to make it much harder for people to watch matches illegally this season.
Several providers are urging people to start using VPNs in order to get around the blocks, reports TorrentFreak.
However, people who buy so-called Kodi boxes tend to do so because they'd rather pay for someone else to do the technical stuff, rather than attempt it themselves.
Another provider obtained new domain names, causing further confusion as its users didn’t know what was going on.
Furthermore, TorrentFreak suggests that, since the IP addresses targeted by the Premier League belonged to the same servers carrying other types of content, some users were also left unable to access films and TV shows.
“We’re pleased to see the Premier League’s blocking order is making it harder to stream games illegally,” a Sky spokesperson told the Independent.
“People who've spent money on pirate boxes or illegal subscriptions could be wasting their money and exposing themselves and their families to harm.”
However, not all streams were successfully blocked, and users were still able to watch some of the weekend’s matches on other platforms, such as Twitter.
The Premier League announced its “biggest ever crackdown” on illegal football streams last month.
It has obtained a High Court Order, which will be in place for the entire 2017/18 season, that allows it to work with the UK’s internet service providers (ISPs), including Sky, BT and Virgin Media, to quickly block servers that are hosting illegal streams of matches.
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