Following protests from companies like News Corp., Viacom, Scripps Networks and Discovery Communications, Time Warner Cable has pulled several channels from their iPad app. Attorney John Handel indicates that one or more of these companies may be preparing a lawsuit.
The legal issues will likely focus on how the programming rights contracts were worded, said Handel. These cases occur under a cloud where contracts were signed in a preexisting world when new technologies weren t around yet. If they had anticipated the new technology and talked about it specifically, you wouldn t have the problem.
While broadcasters believe that extra compensation should be involved, TWC says that the iPad is basically just being used an a portable TV inside people’s homes, though that’s unlikely to reassure many of these broadcasters. TWC, meanwhile, has shown that they’re willing to stand up and fight for this.
The enthusiasm of our customers and the programming partners who have embraced the app, rather than those who are solely focused on finding additional ways to reach into wallets of their own viewers, has convinced us more than ever that we are on the right path, read a statement by TWC.
Source: AdWeek {link no longer active}
