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 »

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 »

Two news reports regarding the MSOs and their media company partners caught our eye last week.  One provided details on Time Warner’s “TV Everywhere” initiative.  The other discussed Viacom’s efforts to work with cable operators to develop an authentication process to ensure that only users paying a monthly cable bill will have online access to certain content.  Taken together the reports revealed that these two players–which don’t always see eye-to-eye– are in agreement on an evolving business strategy that could–depending on whether you view the glass has half–full or half-empty–lead to either a severe limitation or an opening of the floodgates with respect to free content available on the Web. Continue Reading »