“Viacom has notified Cablevision Systems that the cable operator’s iPad app, which delivers live TV and video-on-demand inside subscribers homes, is not authorized,” Todd Spangler repots for Multichannel News. “On Thursday, Time Warner Cable filed a lawsuit against Viacom in federal court seeking a ruling that its own iPad app featuring live TV streaming is covered under existing distribution agreements, while Viacom responded with its own suit accusing the MSO of breach of contract and copyright violations.”
In a statement Friday, Viacom said, “Cablevision has seized distribution rights that Viacom has not granted. Viacom grants rights to distribute our content based on specific technologies and devices. We have extensive relationships with dozens of distribution companies who deal with us fairly and deliver outstanding consumer experiences on a variety of platforms. These relationships are based on fair licensing agreements that provide appropriate value for everyone involved. We will take the steps necessary to ensure that Cablevision respects our rights.”
The cable operator said in a statement, “Cablevision’s agreements with programmers allow us to deliver cable television service to our customers, regardless of how many or what kinds of televisions they have in the home. Programmers are paid based on how many homes we securely connect to their content, not how many televisions display it, so they have never questioned whether a customer has a single TV or a dozen 50-inch flat panels in the home — it’s all cable television. Optimum App for iPad simply turns the iPad into another television in the home, and one it is worth noting our customers are finding particularly enjoyable and easy to use.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Content producers should get to work then on producing their own apps, as ESPN has done already for their channels (albeit as a pixel-doubled iPhone app for iPad). We’ll make a folder of them on our iOS devices and it’ll look and act just like the channel lineup in the cable companies’ iPad apps. Sure, it’s not optimal to have channels groups strewn among several apps, but it’s certainly better than nothing. Until then, the content producers are the villains here. If you want us to watch your content, under your control, on our iPads: Stop suing and start coding! It’s not only less expensive, but it’ll be much more effective, too. (ESPN: Great job, we love your WatchESPN app. iPad-native app soon, please!)
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Sarah” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Apple’s revolutionary iPad’s killer app: Live TV – April 9, 2011
Time Warner asks U.S. District Court to decide on iPad streaming – April 7, 2011
Free WatchESPN app streams live ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch – April 7, 2011
Time Warner Cable adds 20 new channels TWCable TV for iPad app – April 1, 2011
Time Warner pulls several channels from TWCable TV iPad app – March 31, 2011
News Corp.’s Fox TV delivers cease and desist letter to Time Warner Cable over iPad app – March 31, 2011
Time Warner cuts back live TV iPad app due to overwhelming demand (updated) – March 16, 2011
Time Warner Cable first to launch iPad app that delivers live TV (Updated) – March 14, 2011
