Viacom Inc., the owner of MTV, Comedy Central and other television channels, accused cable TV distributor Cablevision Systems Corp. on Thursday of making its shows available on the iPad without permission.
Viacom is seeking millions of dollars in damages and an injunction to stop Cablevision from distributing an iPad app that lets subscribers watch live channels and get shows on demand. Viacom says the app infringes on its copyrights.
The app, called Optimum, is part of a move by cable, satellite and other TV providers to give paying subscribers the ability to watch programs on a variety of devices. There’s no extra charge beyond what subscribers already pay monthly for television service.
Some call the concept “TV Everywhere,” although the Optimum app doesn’t allow subscribers to view shows over cellphone networks or Wi-Fi hotspots outside their home. It only works in subscribers’ own homes using Wi-Fi signals that come through a modem supplied by Cablevision.
The app launched on April 2 and had more than 50,000 downloads within five days. It is available to Cablevision’s digital cable subscribers for free.
Viacom said it has had “limited and unproductive” discussions with Cablevision for several months about licensing the app.
“We cannot wait indefinitely while our networks are being distributed without permission,” the company said in a statement.
Viacom filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York on Thursday. A day earlier, Viacom and another cable TV distributor Time Warner Cable Inc. agreed to postpone a legal battle over a similar iPad app to try to reach a deal.
Cablevision said its app falls within existing agreements with programmers, including Viacom.
“It is cable television service on the iPad, which functions as a television, and is delivered securely to our customers in the home on Cablevision’s own proprietary network,” Cablevision said in a statement.
Viacom said in its lawsuit that the delivery system was not secure and could allow for illegal copying and file sharing. Viacom also said Cablevision used the trademarks of Viacom’s channel to give subscribers an incorrect impression that it is backing the product.
Viacom said viewing on mobile devices such as the iPad is not yet measured by The Nielsen Co. As a result, Viacom risks losing revenue from advertisers, because ad rates are set based on the number of viewers. If viewers stop watching on television and watch instead on the iPad, Viacom would lose credit for those viewers.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic 3” Rule Box Office For 1st Weekend Of 2025
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn't far behind.
"Sonic 3" stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. "Mufasa's" running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features' "Nosferatu" remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable. "Nosferatu," which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).
No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, "Moana 2," claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in... Read More