And again, Fox is suing Dish over the Hopper. After a failed lawsuit over the Hopper DVR’s ability to skip commercials, Fox is going after the network for delivering live and recorded TV to computers, phones, and tablets through the Internet. Fox argues that this feature breaches Fox’s licence agreement with Dish because Dish doesn’t have rights to Fox’s content on the Internet, unlike providers like iTunes and Amazon, who currently pay to offer commercial-free, on-demand versions of Fox programming over the Internet. This is just a battle in the ongoing war over how viewers will be able to access content in the age of readily accessible streaming – and the success or failure of the Hooper, as well as the legal battles surrounding it, could determine how this conflict resolves more broadly.
Tag: Hopper
CNET Withdraws Direct TV Hopper ‘Best In Show’ Award Amidst CBS Lawsuit
Direct TV’s Hopper DVR is a disruptive force in the living room. For starters, it allows simultaneous recording of six channels, mobile remote integration and an app ecosystem. But most disruptive of all is its ability to skip primetime commercials, which has caused CNET to withdraw its Best In Show CES honor awarded to the device following litigation from parent company, CBS. If that’s not proof enough that the Hopper is a gamechanger, I don’t know what is.
