HHR New Media, Entertainment and Technology Group

With all of the attention “TV Everywhere” is getting, it is not surprising that the most recent scrutiny is coming from public interest groups that are claiming the TV Everywhere platform (under which cable providers will offer their subscribers access to the content on screens outside of their homes) presents significant antitrust concerns.   Just two weeks after Comcast launched X-Finity, its version of TV Everywhere, several public interest groups petitioned the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate perceived antitrust violations.  Free Press, Media Access Project, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America and New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative are among those who have asserted that the TV Everywhere model is anticompetitive because it  will cause a rise in prices, divide markets, tie products and threaten new competition.   Continue Reading »

The latest in our on-going series of CLE-accredited Webinars will focus on the critical legal and business issues and questions raised by the emerging phenomenon of “TV Everywhere,” a digital platform agnostic solution that promises to enable pay TV subscribers online access to their programming wherever they may consume it via an Internet enabled device. Our team will address topics including:

• Methodologies to authenticate subscribers and the technological burdens of implementing such authentication methodologies;
• Protection of personally identifiable information (PII) of subscribers and controlling access to such subscriber PII;
• Impact of the FCC’s proposed “net neutrality” rules on TV Everywhere initiatives; and
• Potential business models and revenue opportunities for stakeholders, including revenue streams from enhanced subscription fees, premium advertising fees, etc.

The one-hour Webinar will also feature “live chat” functionality to enable viewers to ask questions and comment on the presentation in real-time. Presentation materials will be available for download.

The Webinar will be held on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST. To register, click here.

On December 17, we will be presenting “TV Everywhere – Is It Everywhere You Want to Be?”, the latest in our continuing series of free, CLE accredited webinars.  During the program, we will be taking a closer look at “TV Everywhere” (TVE), the fledgling initiative under which cable operators and other pay TV providers propose to make their programming–which was, up until now, available only on TV and by subscription–available online to subscribers via any internet-connected device.  Continue Reading »

A group of retired players recently filed a class action suit (Dryer et al. v. National Football League) against the NFL claiming infringement and unauthorized use of their identities and likenesses to promote the NFL and sell NFL-related products without compensation.  

This is yet another in a long list of cases brought by former athletes from the NFL, MLB, and NCAA seeking limits on the right to exploit players’ likenesses. In fact, just last year, a number of retired NFL players won a class action lawsuit against the NFL Players Association, arguing that the union conspired with Electronic Arts to use their likenesses in the Madden video game series without proper compensation, in which the retired players earned a $26 million settlement. Continue Reading »

Cablevision can move forward with its plans to move its digital video recording service into the cloud, thanks to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the broadcast industry’s appeal of a decision granting summary judgment in favor of Cablevision.

While consumer DVRs have been used for years, Cablevision sought to launch a service for the remote storage of shows recorded by consumers.  Cablevision’s argument in favor of such service was that, as long as consumers were still in control of the recording, playback and deletion process, the location of the hard drive on which the content was stored didn’t matter.  Broadcasters disagreed, however, claiming that by archiving and retransmitting the content, Cablevision was engaging in copyright infringement. Continue Reading »