After weeks of legal wrangling over content licensing for Cablevision’s popular Optimum iPad live TV app, media bigwig Viacom and the cableco have buried the hatchet. The way seems to be cleared for the second screen.
“Viacom and Cablevision have agreed to resolve their pending litigation, and the Viacom programming will continue to appear on Cablevision’s Optimum Apps for iPad and other IP devices," reads a joint statement. “In reaching the settlement agreement, Cablevision and Viacom were able to resolve the iPad matter and an unrelated business matter to their mutual satisfaction. Neither side is conceding its original legal position or will have further comment."
In other words, they have agreed to disagree, but the arrangement must be beneficial enough for both of them to allow iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch streaming of MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central, among others, to continue.
Cablevision has had big success with the iPad live TV app, which gives subscribers free access to 300 live TV channels and thousands of VOD titles, along with remote control functionality, inside the home (no on-the-go access). Offerings on the Optimum app include local broadcast channels, sports and premium programming — pay-per-view is not yet available. It also integrates enhanced guide information that makes it easier for customers to find content, and lets subscribers browse, search and set DVR recordings.
The app streams content by leveraging the in-home set-top-box, classifying it as a broadcast service — the mobile device becomes simply another television screen within the home in that case, the MSO said. Viacom however sued Cablevision in June, asserting that the streaming capability amounts to double dipping — that is, the cableco is paying licensing fees only once to deliver content on two platforms.
The concept of tablet streaming of live TV has been an ongoing issue when it comes to content licensing. First of all, on-the-go access outside the home has been largely blocked by media companies when that functionality comes as part of a no-additional-charge TV Everywhere scheme. Netflix can stream over 3G; but AT&T U-verse, Cablevision Optimum and Time Warner Cable’s iPad apps do not allow the same. And secondly, even inside the home, tablet apps have been controversial: Cablevision is not the only one that has faced legal action from studios; TWC has had its share of legal battles as well.
Even so, for Cabelvision, Optimum has been popular, with some 50,000 downloads recorded in its first five days of launch back in April. And yesterday, the MSO announced that it was extending the app to the iPhone and iPod Touch.
