Legal
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DOJ Files Motion to End Paramount Consent Decrees
As expected, the Department of Justice formally filed a motion in the District Court for the Southern District of New York to terminate the Paramount Consent Decrees, which for more than 70 years regulated how certain movie studios distribute films to movie theatres. As part of the DOJ’s review of nearly 1,300 legacy antitrust judgments, … Continue reading “DOJ Files Motion to End Paramount Consent Decrees”
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Disney Dealing With Alleged Hacked Streaming Accounts
Disney is reportedly dealing with complaints from consumers alleging their Disney+ accounts have been hacked. The Disney+ SVOD service launched eight days ago with more than 10 million new registered accounts in the first 24+ hours of operation. As previously disclosed, the service encountered myriad technical issues at launch, with those issues now replaced by … Continue reading “Disney Dealing With Alleged Hacked Streaming Accounts”
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Disney Dealing With Alleged Hacked Streaming Accounts
Disney is reportedly dealing with complaints from consumers alleging their Disney+ accounts have been hacked. The Disney+ SVOD service launched eight days ago with more than 10 million new registered accounts in the first 24+ hours of operation. As previously disclosed, the service encountered myriad technical issues at launch, with those issues now replaced by … Continue reading “Disney Dealing With Alleged Hacked Streaming Accounts”
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DOJ Looking to End 1940s-Era Theatrical Movie Distribution Rules
The Department of Justice’s antitrust division is considering ending 1940s-era legislation that prohibits studios from owning movie theaters and controlling the exhibitor release slate, among other provisions. Known as the Paramount decrees, antitrust efforts at the time led to the 1948 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Paramount Pictures and other major studios that ended studio … Continue reading “DOJ Looking to End 1940s-Era Theatrical Movie Distribution Rules”
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Redbox Settles With Disney, Agrees Not to Sell Digital Codes
Disney and Redbox have settled their two-year-old lawsuit, with the kiosk company agreeing to never sell digital codes. The codes offering access to a digital movie copy are contained in disc combo packs that Redbox purchases so it can rent out the discs from its kiosks. Unlike other studios, Disney does not have a rental … Continue reading “Redbox Settles With Disney, Agrees Not to Sell Digital Codes”
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DOJ Drawn Into Comcast, Starz Carriage Dispute
With legacy pay-TV under siege from cord-cutting subscribers and high-profile alternatives such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and now Apple TV+, the status quo for traditional carriage agreements has gone out the window. And so it was that Comcast last month quietly announced it would soon end Xfinity subscriber access to Starz, the premium … Continue reading “DOJ Drawn Into Comcast, Starz Carriage Dispute”
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Anti-Piracy Group Adds Viacom, Comcast
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, an online anti-piracy coalition whose members include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and major studios, has added Comcast and Viacom as members. While NBC Universal and Paramount Pictures were already ACE members, the addition of their parent companies will strengthen ACE’s comprehensive approach to disrupting a piracy ecosystem that harms creators, … Continue reading “Anti-Piracy Group Adds Viacom, Comcast”
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Report: India Considering Censorship of Netflix, Amazon, Disney Streaming Video Content
With India and its second-largest population in the world, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney have aggressively sought an over-the-top video presence in the nascent market. The influx of foreign SVOD services has reportedly prompted some government officials to ask for increased monitoring of content on the platforms — above existing regulations. Reuters reports that … Continue reading “Report: India Considering Censorship of Netflix, Amazon, Disney Streaming Video Content”
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Italy Investigating Netflix on Alleged Tax Evasion
Italian officials have reportedly opened an investigation into Netflix regarding possible tax evasion operating its subscription streaming video service in the country. Reuters, citing a source familiar with the situation, said prosecutors in Milan opened the inquiry despite the fact Netflix does not have a physical presence in the country. Netflix Italy has about 1.4 … Continue reading “Italy Investigating Netflix on Alleged Tax Evasion”
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Federal Appeals Courts Upholds Net Neutrality Deregulation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Oct. 1 affirmed the basic principles of Republican-led efforts to deregulate net neutrality guidelines established during the Obama Administration. The three-judge panel did rule against the FCC superseding state efforts to impose local guidelines where the federal government did not. “We uphold the 2018 order, with … Continue reading “Federal Appeals Courts Upholds Net Neutrality Deregulation”
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Free TV Streaming Service ‘Locast’ Fights Back Against Major Broadcasters With Countersuit
Locast, the free New York-based service that streams broadcast television feeds online, on Sept. 27 filed a lawsuit against NBC, CBS, Fox and ABC, alleging the major broadcasts colluded to undermine its business, among other claims. The service claims to have about 700,000 registered users/donors across 13 cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San … Continue reading “Free TV Streaming Service ‘Locast’ Fights Back Against Major Broadcasters With Countersuit”
