The Premier League has won another blocking order to shut down pirate streams of football matches during the upcoming 2018/19 season.

The blocking order was granted by the UK High Court in an effort to stop unauthorised streams distributing coverage of the games across the web.

An earlier iteration of the court order, which was branded 'game-changing' at the time, was handed out to the Premier League in 2017.

In total, some 200,000 illegal streams were blocked last season.

The High Court order allows broadcasters including Sky, BT Sport and Virgin Media to block and disrupt servers that host illegal streams of Premier League’ matches.

Previously, internet companies had to target the websites hosting the streams, however, the blocking orders allow firms to stop the signal at the server level – killing the feed at its source.

Illicit streams are tracked using a variety of methods, including digital watermarks embedded in the original video to trace any streams being shared for free, as well as known databases of popular pirate websites and apps for mobile devices and Kodi.

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The Premier League is clamping down on fans watching games illegally via pirate streams. It has been granted a piracy blocking order from the UK High Court to stop unauthorised streams from cropping up on the web (stock)

Piracy is a major issue for the Premier League, with thousands of fans refusing to pay monthly subscription fees to services including Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon to gain lawful access to coverage of the games.

Online streams, including those viewed with illicit Internet Protocol television (IPTV) boxes, like those powered by Kodi, have becoming increasingly popular.

IPTV boxes also allow fans to watch the games that kick-of at 3pm, when official broadcasters are in an enforced blackout.

An earlier test of the blocking order rolled-out in March 2017 and saw almost 5,000 streams blocked in the first two months.

The ban, which was granted by the court under Section 97a of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, allowed internet service providers (ISPs), such as Sky, BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, to turn streams off.

The High Court order gave the Premier League permission to 'target the suppliers of illegal streams to IPTV boxes, and the internet, in a proportionate and precise manner'.

After its success, it was renewed in July 2017 for its first full season.

Speaking at the time, Premier League Director of Legal Services, Kevin Plumb, said: 'This blocking Order is a game-changer in our efforts to tackle the supply and use of illicit streams of our content.

'It will allow us to quickly and effectively block and disrupt the illegal broadcast of Premier League football via any means, including so called "pre-loaded Kodi boxes".'

A pioneering version of the court order was first handed out in 2017, and this renewal will be its third iteration. This court restriction will allow broadcasters such as Sky, BT Sport and Virgin Media to shut down the shady streams

WHAT PIRACY BLOCKS ARE IN PLACE IN THE UK? Premier League The latest High Court order allows internet providers, including BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media to block and disrupt servers hosting illegal streams of Premier League matches the moment they are detected. The blocking order, which was granted by the court under Section 97a of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, will cover the entire 2018/19 season. It builds on a similar High Court order issued last season. According to the Premier League, it was able to disrupt or block nearly 200,000 illegal streams of its content during the 2017/18 football season. Elsewhere, it also took down 450,000 illegal clips of Premier League content from social and digital media outlets. UEFA Last year, football body Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was granted an injunction, which called on BT, Virgin Media, Sky, TalkTalk, EE and Plusnet to block illicit streams of UEFA matches. Instead of targeting the tube-style sites hosting the illegal football streams, the anti-piracy measure allows ISPs to stops the signal at the server level. This is essentially killing the weed at its root. The UEFA injunction covered the 2017/18 season and has yet to be renewed for the upcoming football season.


This covered the 2017-2018 season and expired when the season did on May 13.

According to the Premier League, was able to disrupt or block nearly 200,000 illegal streams, as well as 450,000 illegal clips of Premier League content from social and digital media outlets, during the season.

A clause in the court order allowed the Premier League to apply for a renewal, which it did, and has now been approved in court.

It has been expanded to include more internet providers and will affect customers of BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.

Citing evidence provided by the Premier League, Mr Justice Arnold, who made the decision, said that the second order was 'very effective in achieving the blocking of access to the Target Servers during Premier League matches.'

He also noted that there was no evidence of over-blocking.

The latest iteration of the blocking order 'enlarges the subset of infringing streaming servers to be blocked' and also modifies the way in which hosts are notified of infringement.

'[T]he requirement to notify hosting providers is made subject to a short delay. This is in order to prevent the order being circumvented,' Justice Arnold writes.

'The evidence filed by FAPL in support of the application demonstrates that there have been attempts to circumvent the Second Order, and therefore this concern is a very real one.'

The move comes as the Premier League is available to stream legitimately on more services than ever before.

The ban on illegal streaming comes as the Premier League is embracing legitimate streaming. US tech giants Amazon have dipped their toes into the Premier League waters by agreeing a three-year deal to stream 20 Premier League matches a season

GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON KODI AND IPTV BOXES What is 'illicit streaming' and what devices are commonly used? 'Illicit streaming' as the watching of content without the copyright owner's permission by any means. Illicit streaming devices are physical boxes that are connected to your TV or USB sticks that plug into the TV such as adapted Amazon Fire sticks and so called 'Kodi' boxes or Android TV boxes. While they are legal if they are used to watch legitimate content, they are illegal once they are adapted to stream illicit content, How do you identify an illicit streaming device? If you are watching TV shows, films or sporting events where you would normally be paying to view them and you have not paid, you are likely to be using an illicit streaming device. 'These devices are often purchased online and described as "Fully Loaded, Jail Broken, Plug and Play or Subscription Gift"', according to the IPO. 'They are described using these terms to show that they have been adapted and are functioning as an illicit streaming device.' 'In some cases consumers buy devices and subsequently add the software, this also makes it an illicit streaming device.' Why you should not buy these devices? Children are at risk of being exposed to explicit or age inappropriate content. There are also concerns over fire safety. Some devices from the black market have failed EU safety standards and could cause a fire in the home. Using an illegal Kodi box also means 'you are depriving industry of the revenue it needs to fund the next generation of TV programmes, films and sporting events we all enjoy', said the IPO. 'Instead it provides funds for the organised criminals who sell or adapt these illicit devices.' What should you do if you already have an illegal Kodi box? These devices can be used legally by removing the software, the IPO says. You can also approach the relevant provider to find out about legal ways to watch your favourite shows. Where can you report sellers of illegal Kodi boxes? The IPO says if you see these devices being offered for sale, tell Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Citizens Advice also provides free, confidential and independent advice. Source: Intellectual Property Office Advertisement

US tech firm Amazon has signed a three-year deal to stream 20 Premier League matches a season.

This is a considerable coup for the top flight and its departing executive chairman Richard Scudamore.

Amazon are understood to have only paid £30million a year for broadcasting simultaneously a full round of midweek fixtures in early December followed by a full festive programme — one of two unwanted packages that went unsold at the Premier League rights auction last February when bids failed to reach the reserve price.

Having Amazon on board means the Premier League has every opportunity over the next three years of attracting the Seattle-based company to invest a lot more when the TV rights are sold again in another competitive market.

Amazon will also stream a weekly highlights show and have begun preliminary talks about additional football programming to support their new content which starts in the 2019-2020 season.

The football will be shown on Amazon Prime Video in the UK at no extra cost to Prime members.

Jay Marine, vice-president of Prime Video in Europe, said: ‘We are always looking to add more value to Prime and we are delighted to now offer live Premier League matches.

'Over those two December fixture rounds, Prime members will be able to watch every team.’