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Users of the popular streaming service Kodi are growing concerned as more add-ons have been shut down.

While the popular streaming service is not illegal, many rights holders have been left concerned by the sales of “fully-loaded” Kodi boxes, which allow users to illegally access live sport and movies.

The idea of a Kodi box is a slight misnomer as Kodi is software that allows users to play and view most streaming media , such as videos, music, podcasts, and videos from the internet.

But you can buy boxes which have Kodi software installed.

Kodi is becoming increasingly popular with consumers, as TV and movie fans look for on-demand solutions for their viewing habits.

But more and more add-ons for the service are shutting down amid the clampdown.

Phoenix, one of the most popular add-ons, has closed down this week.

(Image: Carmathenshire County Council)

“In light of current events we have decided to close down Phoenix,” wrote the add-on’s developer, Cosmix, in a post spotted by TorrentFreak .

“This is not something that was easy for us to do; we have all formed a bond that cannot be broken as a team and have a HUGE support base that we are thankful of.”

Although no specific reason has been given for Phoenix’s shutdown, it’s believed to be due to some high profile legal suits in the United States.

More than any other streaming service, Kodi has come under fire for allowing users to access illegal content like movies , TV shows and Premier League football games.

Even though the software itself is perfectly legal, third-party sources use it as a distribution platform for foreign or illegal live streams .

The closure of Phoenix echoes an earlier shutdown from the popular Navi-X add-on , which had been operating for 10 years up until last month.

“After ten years of successful operation, Navi-X has sadly being discontinued. Navi-X was first released in April 2007, and is the oldest Kodi add-on of its kind,” the development team told The Mirror .

“The main reason why the decision was made to discontinue the Navi-X service is the current legal climate surrounding Kodi.”

In recent months, Kodi has become a by-word for internet streaming piracy - even though the software itself doesn’t host any media.

Rights holders and service providers like the Premiere League and Sky TV are furiously trying to shut down the illegal add-ons that supply Kodi.

Much of this legal climate has sprung from a recent EU ruling that streaming pirated video content online does constitute an offence.

(Image: Handout)

In a landmark ruling , the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that the temporary reproduction of a copyright-protected work, obtained without the consent of the copyright holder, is NOT exempt from the “right of reproduction”.

The right of reproduction states that no person other than the copyright owner can make any reproductions or copies of the work.

The ruling effectively means that anyone who streams an illegally copied film or TV show is breaking the law - just as they would be if they downloaded it.

The court explained that streaming this content “adversely affects the normal exploitation of those works and causes unreasonable prejudice to the legitimate interests of the copyright holders”.

Which means that if you want to watch next season’s Premier League football matches legally, you’re going to have to pay for a Sky or BT Sport membership package.