Bell Media, Profession : Bully

[InMontreal]

VMedia, Bell to face off in court over live TV streaming service
JAMES BRADSHAW, Published Monday, Oct. 03, 2016 4:45PM
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle32218867/

VMedia Inc., a Toronto-based startup that offers Internet and IPTV (Internet protocol television) services by buying wholesale access to established players’ broadband networks, launched a new app last month providing a cheap subscription to a basic set of live TV channels available online through the Roku streaming box.

But in a letter last week, Bell Media, a division of BCE Inc., argues VMedia has “no legal right” to rebroadcast its CTV networks this way, and is considering a court challenge. In response, VMedia filed a pre-emptive motion with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Monday, asking the court to affirm that its service is lawful.
(...)
But VMedia doesn’t believe that restriction applies to over-the-air channels, which TV distributors can retransmit for free under the Copyright Act. “Accordingly, a copyright owner such as Bell has no right to prohibit the simultaneous retransmission of the work,” the company argues in its court filing. “This is strictly an attempt to protect the turf,” Mr. Burger said of Bell threatening legal action. “As long as [the largest cable companies] do this, it makes it extremely difficult for anybody to compete with them, because they have the wires.”

Let me get this straight. I can setup an antenna, get a tuning device like HDHomeRun or Tablo, record it, convert it, or stream my local CTV station to Apple TV, ChromeCast or Roku as much as I want.
BUT if I decide to pay 18$ per month to receive the same local CTV station from a legit IPTV provider, Oh, either the feed goes directly to the rental box or only on the tablet, but no streaming is allowed.
Yet, if I use a participating BDU login/pass on CTV's app, I can Airplay or ChromeCast any show (I guess AirPlay also works for live TV?)
Does Bell Canada's customers app have any "AirPlay" capabilities?

Damnit Bell, go make your apps compatible with Roku, then drop the lawsuit. You keep complaining whenever someone has a technological advantage over you using your own services.

[PokerFace]

Bell's certainly not going to let the idea of progress get in the way of its bottom line.

IPTV will be "invented" when Bell decides to "invent" it. When Rogers introduces its IPTV offering, Bell will declare it a bust and vow to offer a superior experience to Canadians once it's ready to launch its own IPTV service.

Although I'm streaming online content using my computer, there are only a few Canadian services available for me to stream live (at prices I'm not willing to pay, or for channels I don't want).

IPTV through my computer, or via a variety of entertainment boxes, puts me back into the traditional TV game; assuming of course that it's something that I'm still interested in. I don't think I will join in, because it will probably require faster internet speeds and higher prices. Not to mention the traffic-shaping nonsense that will probably rear its ugly head, amidst all of the denials.

I suppose once the Internet is tamed/destroyed by the greed of the current regimes, the IPTV services that will be available to me, will simply mirror what regular cable/satellite services offer now, except I'll have the opportunity to subscribe to a smaller bundle of lame channels, or individual ones, for a lower price ... assuming that I can still afford the price of my ever-rising Internet service (not rising now, but just give Bell and the Gang more time to make it so).

IPTV should offer more choice, rather than just more convenience. However, I really don't see how more choice can ever be offered when companies like Bell are determined to do all the choosing for us, whether we like it or not.

Can I take a deep breath now, Bell? Or should I hold my breath a little longer until I suffocate waiting for you do anything that benefits my bottom line.

[PokerFace]

This reminds me of the Aereo fiasco in the US. Rogers isn't happy with VMedia either, but that's not surprising. It does seem like Bell will win this argument and end VMedia's attempt at dodging the grip of the big boys of the industry. Once the Internet presents your product to the masses in a simple fashion, you will always face opposition from the competition, especially when there's so much at stake.

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https://cartt.ca/article/why-bell-an...th-ott-and-bdu
[Subscription needed, or just google it: Why Bell and others insist VMedia can’t use the same rules to be both OTT and BDU]

Bell isn’t the only broadcast distributor unhappy with VMedia’s new service. Sources say CBC/Radio-Canada is looking into the matter while Corus Entertainment is examining its options but isn’t yet ready to take action. Rogers Communications has, however, sent a letter to VMedia expressing its concern regarding the Roku streaming service. “We don’t think it’s right for the folks who create and produce great City and OMNI shows every day to not get paid for their work, so we’ve asked VMedia to stop their unauthorized distribution of those channels,” Rogers said in a statement.

...

The vertically integrated entities want to prevent this because “it impinges on their BDU business. But the reality is they are partly wrong on that because the people we’re attracting are cord cutters and soon to be cord cutters,” explains Burger. Think of the advertising revenue broadcasters are losing when people cut the cord, he adds. “If we can reach 10,000 more people who would otherwise be out of the system, that’s 10,000 homes of more ad revenues. How can that possibly be bad for anybody?” he asks.

[PokerFace]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/vmed...roku-1.3804895
[VMedia pulls Bell channels amid legal threat over Roku app]

VMedia, the small internet and internet TV provider, is pulling Bell Media channels from its skinny basic cable package offered over its Roku app while a fight over its right to broadcast the channels over the internet plays out in court.

In an affidavit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, VMedia says it made the decision after Bell agreed to cover any damages arising from the move, up to a limit of $50,000.

"As a sign of its good faith in dealing with this dispute, VMedia pulled the CTV and CTV2 signals from its service," it states.

VMedia's decision to pull the channels is pending the court's ruling.

[InMontreal]

Ontario court sides with Bell in dispute over VMedia streaming service
JAMES BRADSHAW - MEDIA REPORTER
The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 5:09PM EST

(...)
Justice Fred Myers of the Ontario Superior Court sided with Bell on Tuesday, ordering VMedia to stop offering the Roku service. But he repeatedly said it will ultimately be up to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to set broadcasting policy. “Why are you here instead of there?” he asked VMedia’s lawyers at a hearing last Thursday.

“If technology has overcome the existing laws and policies, it is open to interested parties to put the issues before the CRTC to try to revise the policies and the definitions,” Justice Myers wrote in a 15-page decision. “This decision says what the law is. It is for others to determine what the applicable law ought to be.”

Priced at $17.95 a month, VMedia’s now-outlawed service was designed to mirror its basic TV package. The key difference was that it was available to users of any Canadian Internet provider through a Roku – and perhaps eventually other streaming boxes such as Apple TV – rather than being confined to TV providers’ proprietary set-top boxes.

It was billed, in part, as a way to invite those who ditched traditional TV back into the system, but it caught some broadcasters off guard when it launched. The court also awarded Bell $150,000 in costs, as VMedia had taken a “very aggressive business position” and used “hardball tactics.”
(...)

Full article : http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle32987229/

Another day, a competitor service shuts down an "easier to get" service while Bell laughs all the way to the bank...