BEVERLY HILLS, CA–(Marketwired – June 30, 2014) – The Supreme Court ruling on ABC and Broadcasters v. Aereo on June 25, put an end to the use of remote antennas to stream broadcast signals — at least as a business plan for those who didn’t want to pay royalties. But FilmOn Networks was always willing to pay royalties and using Section 111 of the Copyright Act, can continue to provide local broadcast television from 18 markets to subscribers nationwide using its Teleporter technology.
As CEO Alki David predicted during appearances on Bloomberg News in 2012 and 2013, the result of the Supreme Court hearings has been that FilmOn should be regulated just as any other cable company. In those interviews David makes it clear he has always been willing to pay license fees to local TV broadcasters.
The Networks never could make up their mind about how they wanted to play this: In 2010, well before Aereo launched, CBS Networks sued FilmOn arguing that it was not a cable company. More recently, in the case before the 9thcircuit — which is still pending — the Networks argued that FilmOn was
a cable company.
Now that the Supreme Court has made a very clear designation of Aereo and FilmOn as cable companies, FilmOn has once again filed with the United States Copyright Office for Compulsory License under Section 111 of the Copyright Act of 1976. (It originally filed for the same license in 2011 and the request was neither granted nor denied).
Justice Breyer’s remarks are very clear: If it functions like a cable company, it should be treated like a cable company. The likeness is called “overwhelming” and explained in great detail. FilmOn meets all of the criteria.
“This was always about dragging the television business kicking and screaming into the 21st century,” says David. “FilmOn’s efforts were never about violating copyright as the Networks sought to portray it. The goal was always to deliver the experience consumers want and deserve, without exorbitant fees and the tyranny of bundling.”
The broadcast channels that FilmOn receives through the antenna farms at issue in the Supreme Court case have been moved behind the paywall and only FilmOn.com subscribers can access them (still leaving 600 licensed channels and tens of thousands of VoD’s available free).
FilmOn Networks’ patented Teleporter system allows subscribers to borrow a remote computer desktop in any of 18 cities across America where FilmOn has a head end and view local television from those areas. As explained by the Financial Times in February, this means the viewer is virtually visiting the region where the signals are being delivered, rather than the signals being streamed to the viewer. This virtual desktop is visible for a few seconds when the viewer first tunes in, in order to let him know he is “teleporting” to another region.
The cities where local broadcasts are being received for transmission are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, North Bergen, Pheonix, Seattle, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Tampa and Washington D.C.
FilmOn Networks is the only cable company operating today with this revolutionary technology — which goes far beyond anything Aereo had offered.
For more information, or to request an interview with Alki David, please contact:
Jeff Stevens
press@handtooledmedia.com
310-383-4991
About FilmOn Networks: Founded by Greek billionaire and media entrepreneur, Alki David, FilmOn is the world’s number one free TV service and number one live TV app with 40 million downloads. FilmOn offers over 600 live TV channels including original programming, 600 video and audio podcasts from premium brands as well as over 45,000 video on demand titles at FilmOn.com and other destination sites online, including BattleCam.com. Last month the site’s 40 million users generated 1.2 billion video streams. The service is available globally via computers, smartphones, tablets as well as the FilmOn App for iOS 7, Android, Windows 8 and IP-enabled set-top boxes and devices. With offices in Beverly Hills and London and data-centers in Los Angeles, London, and Geneva, FilmOn curates the best of free televised entertainment from around the globe. FilmOn TV is an Independent TV Broadcaster with stations in the UK (Sky Channel 292 and Freesat channel 410 and throughout the US. For more information please visit FilmOn.com and connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.
The following files are available for download:
- FilmOnLogo 351K
- FilmOn Teleporter
Contact information
For more information please contact:
Jeff Stevens
press@handtooledmedia.com
310-383-4991
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