Background:
Nine Network (or Channel Nine) is Australia's first free-to-air commercial TV.
IceTV, a small software company. Their (paid) electronic programme guide (EPG) provides following feature.
Fast forward in 30 second blocks to skip an entire ad break in an instant. This feature even works with live TV that has been paused, to allow you to catch up to the real broadcast time.
Nine wants to sue IceTV for breach of copyright in the Federal Court over the sale of program guides that allow viewers to record shows and avoid watching commercials.
CHANNEL Nine will tomorrow take a small software company to court in what is seen as an effort to ensure viewers cannot cut out advertisements.
Nine wants to sue IceTV for breach of copyright in the Federal Court over the sale of program guides that allow viewers to record shows and avoid watching commercials.
"The days of the 30-second commercial that we have all grown up watching are numbered," said IceTV business development manager Matt Kossatz.
"Free-to-air networks have to find more cunning ways to get to their market."
For a subscription fee of $3 a week, IceTV provides an electronic programming guide that allows viewers to automatically record programs and cut out ads with the touch of a button.
Free-to-air stations in Australia have refused to provide their guides because of the threat the technology poses to their most crucial source of income - commercials.
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