FilmOn is an Internet-based television provider owned by FilmOn.TV Networks Inc.

Alki David Alkiviades "Alki" David (born May 1968; pronounced ) is a Cypriot-British businessman. By 2008, he was the majority shareholder of Leventis-David Group, which owns Coca-Cola Hellenic bottling plants in 28 countries. He founded the Internet-b ...

had founded FilmOn.TV Networks in 2006. The company was involved in a prolonged legal case concerning streaming rights with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

between 2013 and 2017, with FilmOn ultimately settling.

History

Early broadcasting model

FilmOn.TV Networks was founded by owner

in 2006. In 2010 FilmOn launched a streaming internet TV service for mobile devices. Filmon.com claimed it was going to launch an additional over-the-air distribution model using FilmOn AIR, a portable tuner that was supposed to send over-the-air HD channels to mobile devices and computers. At the time, FilmOn's annual subscription was approximately $149.95. In November 2010, major broadcasting studios won a temporary restraining order against FilmOn.com plc in New York, arguing it was violating copyright law by streaming local broadcasts. In May 2012, FilmOn launched its

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

app. At the time, the app had 120 channels, with 2,000 on demand titles. For a beta testing stage, all channels were free of charge, as was recording functionality. With Alki David stating the FilmOn technology had been majorly changed by the summer of 2012, at that time, FilmOn was sued again by major networks. FilmOn paid the networks $1.6 million to resolve the 2012 lawsuit. In November 2012, FilmOn founder Alki David sued Fox Broadcasting in a Los Angeles Superior Court, arguing Fox had allegedly "libeled David’s company, FilmOn.com, by making false statements and misrepresenting past court orders to third parties including Apple, Google and Microsoft." At the time, the FilmOn board included individuals such as

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...

and

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

, among others. In October 2012, FilmOn had 85 employees and operated out of Beverly Hills. The company made around $24 million a year, with subscribers at that time paying between $11.95 and $17.90 a month for access. FIlmOn also was licensed to companies like Lenova, with plans for its app to be preloaded on Lenova computers.

2012-2023

In February 2014, FilmOn introduced what it called "teleport technology" in the US that would allow users to watch local television broadcasts not in their region. FilmOn's business model at the time involved making money by selling advertising, as well as providing access to high-definition video, among other services, according to the ''Financial Times''. However, it was restricted by ongoing court battles from offering major network television in various locations in the United States. It had 350 live television channels, and also had original programming. In July 2015, FilmOn served as the production company behind a new single and music video by artist

Chief Keef Keith Farrelle Cozart (born August 15, 1995), better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago's South Side, he began his recording career as a teenager and initially garnered re ...

and

sued FilmOn in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for copyright violations in 2013. While

Aereo Aereo was a technology company based in New York City that allowed subscribers to view live and time-shifted streams of over-the-air television on Internet-connected devices. The service opened to customers in March 2012, and was backed by Barr ...

went bankrupt under a similar lawsuit, FilmOn had argued that "since the high court justices likened streaming operations to a cable system, it was entitled to a compulsory license" under Section 111 of the

Copyright Act Copyright Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States relating to the copyright. The Bill for an Act with this short t ...

, and that it had tendered appropriate fees to the Copyright Office. In July 2016, FilmOn in California won a case agreeing with its interpretation, which "represented a threat to broadcasters", according to the ''Hollywood Reporter.'' In March 2017, that ruling in favor of FilmOn was reversed, and afterwards, FilmOn continued to appeal. CBS, Fox and NBC settled with FilmOn in May 2017. The settlement resulted in FilmOn withdrawing its appeals to other circuits. Terms were confidential. On 1 May 2017, all channels were set to "Paid" - both SD and HD quality - which restricts viewing time to 2 minutes. Previously, SD quality channels were mostly free. Alki David remained head of FilmOn Networks in December 2019.

Programming

FilmOn is a subscription-based internet-based television service allowing remote computer viewing of local television. It also allows users to create their own live or

video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...

channels. At one point, the service licensed 600 channels along with 90,000 video-on-demand titles. The channel lineup varies depending on country. Its library has included the CineBx and Allied Film libraries. FilmOn launched Shockmasters, a channel devoted to

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

, in 2013. In 2014, FilmOn launched Bloodzillathon, a channel devoted to

kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

movies, and it also began streaming

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

in 2014.

Legal issues

In a case that was projected to "impact free speech cases in California," in May 2019, the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly ...

gave FilmOn the go-ahead to sue DoubleVerify for trade libel. The ruling reversed a lower court's decision supporting DoubleVerify's invocation of the anti-

SLAPP Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with ...

statute. In February 2017, a former employee of FilmOn sued both FilmOn and Alki David, saying David had assaulted her in the workplace, and then fired her for refusing advances. She was awarded $11 million in April 2019 by a jury. In November 2019, a Los Angeles jury awarded $8.25 million in damages to a former FilmOn employee, with FilmOn owner

held liable for battery, sexual battery, and sexual harassment. According to a legal expert quoted in the ''Los Angeles Times,'' the award was "among the highest ever for an employment case." The former production assistant was then awarded $58 million from David in punitive damages.

Broadcast channel rights

FilmOn and Alki David have been involved in several legal issues over programming including the carriage of major U.S. broadcast channels, such as

(and its sister network,

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

(and its sister network,

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...

), among others. This resulted in requiring FilmOn to drop these channels in 2011. In 2012, the channels were all returned after appeals were lodged in Federal Court and FilmOn launched its FilmOn Air X antenna farm. On 5 September 2013, Judge Rosemary Collyer of the United States District Court for the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

issued a nationwide injunction blocking FilmOn from offering its antenna/ DVR service. However, the ruling did not apply in the

Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, and it has appellate jurisdic ...

(which includes the states of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

) due to an earlier case brought by

one of FilmOn's competitors.Sottek, T.C. (1 April 2013)
"Aereo wins major court battle against TV networks - A remarkably tech-savvy decision"
''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...

''. Retrieved 17 May 2016. The 2014-Second Circuit ruling found FilmOn in contempt of a 2012 injunction for continuing to deliver live TV streaming services after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed Aereo's service to be in violation of broadcast copyrights in '' American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc.'' (2014).Campbell, Patrick S. (1 August 2014)
"Court holds FilmOn in contempt of injunction barring live TV streaming service"
''Lexology''. Retrieved 17 May 2016.Loeb & Loeb LLP (22 February 2016 )
"CBS Broadcasting Inc. v. FilmOn.com, Inc."
''Lexology''. Retrieved 17 May 2016. Following the 2014

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

ruling by the Second Circuit, FilmOn was also barred from transmitting broadcast television in the Central District of California and thus remained barred nationwide.Bloom, Jason P. and Chiarizio. Matthew (28 April 2016)
"Section 111 Compulsory License for Internet Streaming Still Up in the Air"
''Lexology''. Retrieved 17 May 2016. As of July 2015, the company went by FilmOn X LLC in the United States in the then ongoing case ''Fox Television Stations, Inc v. FilmOn X, LLC''. That month, a US judge ruled that internet streaming services like FilmOn should be treated as a normal cable system. It was the first ruling to view a streaming service as a cable provider. The studios appealed. Specifically, in July 2015, George H. Wu, Judge for the Central District of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

ruled that FilmOn could qualify for a compulsory license for television content.Donahue, Bill (16 July 2015)
"FilmOn Wins Big Ruling On Compulsory Copyright License"
''

Law360 Law360 is a subscription-based, legal news service based in New York City. It is operated by Portfolio Media, Inc., a subsidiary of LexisNexisSabroski, Suzxanne (May 1, 2012) LexisNexis goes 360, ''Onliline'' and delivers breaking news and analys ...

''. Retrieved 17 May 2016. However, as of late April 2016, the legal issue remained unsettled. Although it had granted judgment in FilmOn's favor, the Central District of California court maintained its preliminary injunction barring the company's streaming services pending the outcome of the appeal. CBS, Fox and NBC settled with FilmOn in May 2017.

History

Early broadcasting model

2012-2023

Programming

Legal issues

Broadcast channel rights

References

External links

Further reading