Kodi add-ons are being shut down without warning - leaving many streaming service fans disappointed.

More and more people are opting to use Kodi to stream films, sport and television.

But the service has come under fire for allowing users to access illegal streams.

The doubts about Kodi's legality basically comes down to piracy.

It is important to note that the Kodi service itself is not illegal and is still widely used and sold, the problem lies with how it is used.

Designed to run on computers and home servers connected to larger TVs, Kodi pulls content directly to your front room.

Kodi isn’t held back by licensing or a curated app store, so it lets you download a range of community-made apps, and watch whatever you like.

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

It comes after several Kodi add-ons based in Israel closed operations following pressure from a local group called ZIRA, reports the Mirror.

“In light of current events we have decided to close down Phoenix,” said Phoenix developer Cosmix, TorrentFreak reports.

“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.

“I can speak for myself when I say thank you to everybody that has ever been involved in Phoenix and it will always be one of my fondest memories.”

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 Premier 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.

There are also vast sums of money involved thanks to the might of corporations like Sky and the Premier League.

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