Viacom has sued Cablevision today over its mobile streaming content, alleging it is unauthorized.
In April, Cablevision launched its “Optimum App,” giving subscribers a chance to stream TV programs via their iPad.
Viacom claims the app violates the two company’s current agreement to distribute Viacom programing only on cable TV systems.
The media company is demanding a halt on the streaming and $2 million in damages for each trademark violation.
Cablevision says the Optimum App “falls within our existing cable television licensing agreements with programmers, including Viacom,” and will fight the charges.
The cable operator has 3.7 million customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Result for: streaming content
According to BusinessWeek, popular streaming content destinationHulu is in talks with CBS and Viacom to add their content to the upcoming premium Hulu service.
Currently, CBS is the only major broadcaster to not have an ownership stake in Hulu, but that may change in September, when the premium Hulu begins, giving users a chance to watch full catalogs of content as long as they pay a small monthly subscription fee.
Hulu will keep the free, ad-based service available too, but as most users have already noticed, you can only watch the trailing five episodes of a current season using the free site.
“Charging a subscription is possibly Hulu’s best way to improve its library of TV shows and films,”adds Tony Wible, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia.
Hulu would not comment on the speculation.
All of the owners of Hulu revenue share advertising dollars and would do the same for subscription fees.
Result for: streaming content
Microsoft has announced today that it will be bringing all 12,000 Netflix “Watch Instantly” streaming content videos to Windows Media Player in Vista.
Unfortunately for XP users, the on-demand service will not work with XP Media Center.
To use the content, you must be running Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate and be a monthly subscriber to Netflix. The videos are available through the Netflix app in Windows Media Player, under the “TV + Movies” category.
First time users will be asked to log in using their Netflix username and password and from there you can arrange your queue as well as search the vast library. You will also need Microsoft’s Silverlight video/animation plug-in to run the app if you do not already have it installed.
The move also allows Xbox 360 users to playback movies via streaming.
Adds Ben Reed, senior product marketing manager for Windows Media Center:
“The [lack of] of familiar controls, of pause, fast forward, rewind, that’s one of the pain points we hear from consumers about the myriad ways you can consume TV shows and movies online. Each one has a different search and discovery experience; each one has a different player; some work great full screen, some don’t.”
