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submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

Earlier this month we noted how Disney and ESPN had sued Sling TV for the cardinal sin of actually trying to innovate. Sling TV’s offense: releasing new, more convenient day, weekend, or week-long shorter term streaming subscriptions that provided an affordable way to watch live television.

These mini-subscriptions, starting at around $5, have already proven to be pretty popular. But, of course, it challenges the traditional cable TV model of getting folks locked into recurring (and expensive) monthly subscriptions. Subscriptions that often mandate that you include sports programming many people simply don’t want to pay for.

So of course Time Warner has now filed a second lawsuit (sealed, 1:25-mc-00381) accusing Dish Network of breach of contract. In the complaint, Warner Bros lawyer David Yohai argues that this kind of convenience simply cannot be allowed:

“The passes fundamentally disrupt this industry-standard model by allowing customers to purchase access to the most sought-after programming, such as major sports events, essentially a la carte for a fraction of the cost that the consumer would have had to pay to watch the event on a pay-per-view basis. For example, a sports fan could simply purchase a day pass and watch select programming, such as a highly popular sports game, without purchasing a month-long subscription or paying a higher pay-per-view fee.”

Not disruption and convenience!

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[-] DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 61 points 1 day ago

They're suing over the creation of competition in the market? Certainly an interesting strategy. I hope WB, Disney, and every other scum-sucker that thinks suing is acceptable gets raked across the coals.

[-] suzucappo@lemmy.ml 17 points 22 hours ago

This is suing for the ability to price fix.

They said it without directly saying it. They want to be able to price fix to keep their investors happy and someone is now stepping on the toes of the investors and they want to force sling to raise their price or pay them (mafia tactics) to continue operating.

Any company involved in this lawsuit should be forced to provide their subscription to all current users for free for the next 2-5 years or shutter their streaming service indefinitely.

[-] DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 6 points 19 hours ago

I know what it's about. Best part is that at an entry fee of $5, Sling aren't even undercutting the market enough to allow an anti-competition lawsuit against them. So long as Sling can afford the lawyer fees, a dismissal and reversal should be a cake walk.

[-] half_fiction@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 1 day ago

Yeah, this sure sounds like the "free market" correcting itself as these people love to prattle on about.

[-] Fyrnyx@kbin.melroy.org 17 points 1 day ago

The only competition they want to have, is basically when they put their acquisitions against eachother like fighting with toy soldiers and see who can impress their corporate masters the most. It's sickening.

this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2025
354 points (98.9% liked)

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