DISH, TVB and CCTV File Lawsuit to Combat Massive Piracy via “h.TV” Set-Top Box
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., NORWALK, Calif. & LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DISH, TVB (USA) and CCTV have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of New York to halt illegal streaming of
content via the “h.TV” device. TVB is the largest producer of
Cantonese-language TV programming in the world and CCTV is the largest
television broadcaster in mainland China. DISH owns exclusive rights to
retransmit TVB and CCTV channels and programs via satellite in the
United States, as well as exclusive rights to retransmit TVB content
Over the Top (OTT) in the U.S.
In the filing, DISH, TVB and CCTV state that HTV International Limited
(HTVI) has set up a pirate broadcasting network that brazenly captures
entire channels of TVB and CCTV television programming and streams that
programming over the internet to users of the h.TV device in the U.S.,
24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“The h.TV Retransmission Service accomplishes this massive piracy in
part through a peer-to-peer network–like Napster, Grokster, and
BitTorrent, but designed to stream video content rather than to download
media files,” the plaintiffs state in the complaint. “Through this
peer-to-peer network, some h.TV users not only receive unauthorized
streams of CCTV and TVB programming in the United States, but also
simultaneously retransmit that programming to other h.TV users in the
United States.”
Consumers are paying as much as $300 for an h.TV device and accessing a
variety of “apps” that enable users to access, view and share infringing
streams of television programming. Many of these apps unlawfully
retransmit TVB and CCTV programming.
“Not only are consumers being scammed when they buy the h.TV device,
which relies on content obtained illegally, they are being exploited to
help facilitate this scheme through a peer-to-peer network that
retransmits unauthorized programming from one user to another,” said
Samuel Tsang, vice president, operations for TVB USA. “We work with
providers like DISH to offer our content legally to consumers and won’t
stand for pirates who seek to profit from our content without our
authorization.”
“HTVI has built its entire business around blatant copyright
infringement, brazenly advertising and promoting the capability of the
h.TV device to provide users with infringing streams of CCTV and TVB
television programming,” the plaintiffs state in the complaint.
DISH, TVB and CCTV are represented in the lawsuit by the law firm of
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
A copy of the complaint can be found here.
About DISH
DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), through its subsidiaries, provides
approximately 13.897 million pay-TV subscribers, as of Dec. 31, 2015,
with the highest-quality programming and technology with the most
choices at the best value. DISH offers a high definition line-up with
more than 200 national HD channels, the most international channels and
award-winning HD and DVR technology. DISH Network Corporation is a
Fortune 250 company. Visit www.dish.com.
Subscribe to DISH email alerts: http://about.dish.com/alerts
Follow @DISHNews on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DISHNews
About TVB USA
TVB USA’s parent company is Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB),
the largest and most popular producer of Cantonese-language television
programming in the world. TVB USA also offers various TVB channels in
Mandarin, Vietnamese and English to meet the different needs of
Chinese-speaking viewers in the U.S. All the best programming from TVB
that originally aired in Hong Kong and Taiwan is broadcast by TVB USA in
the United States on more than 10 different channels. Visit www.tvbusa.com.
About CCTV
China Central Television (CCTV) is the National Network of the People’s
Republic of China and it is one of China’s most important news broadcast
companies. Today, CCTV has become one of China’s most influential media
outlets. Currently CCTV is distributing nine international channels in
the U.S., which include Chinese, English, French, Russian, Arabic and
Spanish, covering almost every aspect of the Chinese social life. It is
an important window for the world to find out more about China. CCTV is
making efforts to become a global media network with increased
international influence. Visit www.cctv.com.
Contacts
DISH Network Corp.
Karen Modlin, 303-723-1850
Karen.Modlin@dish.com
