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

Alki David Alkiviades David (born May 1968; pronounced ) is a Greek-British businessman and actor. In 2008 he was the majority shareholder of Leventis-David Group, which owns Coca-Cola Hellenic bottling plants in 28 countries. His companies include the I ...

, who founded the company in 2006.

Programming

FilmOn is a subscription-based Internet-based television service allowing remote computer viewing of local TV worldwide. It licenses more than 600 additional channels plus 90,000 video-on-demand titles. Its library includes the CineBx and Allied Film libraries. It also allows users to create their own live and VOD channels. The channel lineup varies depending on what country it is being viewed in. 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. In May 2012, FilmOn launched its

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

app. Other additions include Shockmasters, a channel devoted to

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. 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 featur ...

movies and television shows; Bloodzillathon, a channel devoted to Japanese

kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

monster movies; and

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...

TV, the first global streaming access to the U.S. Government's broadcaster since the laws changed in 2013 to allow transmission of VOA signals in the U.S. 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.

Legal issues

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

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, ABC and FOX (and its sister network,

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

), 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 September 5, 2013, Judge Rosemary Collyer of the United States District Court for the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

issued a nationwide injunction blocking FilmOn from offering its

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

/ 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 comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate jur ...

(which includes the states of

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

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

) due to an earlier case brought by Aereo one of FilmOn's competitors. In July 2015, George H. Wu, Judge for the Central District of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

ruled that FilmOn could qualify for a compulsory license for television content. 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. Following a 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 cour ...

ruling by the Second Circuit, FilmOn was also barred from transmitting broadcast television in that district and thus remained barred nationwide. 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. ''American Broadcasting Cos., Inc. v. Aereo, Inc'', 573 U.S. 431 (2014), was a United States Supreme Court case. The Court ruled that the service provided by Aereo, allowing subscribers to view live and time-shifted streams of over-the-air telev ...

'' (2014).Loeb & Loeb LLP (22 February 2016 )
"CBS Broadcasting Inc. v. FilmOn.com, Inc."
''Lexology''. Retrieved 17 May 2016.

References

External links

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

(15 January 2015)
"Promoting Innovation and Competition in the Provision of Multichannel Video Programming Distribution Services"
''

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on fede ...

''. * {{Video digital distribution platforms Internet properties established in 2008 Internet properties established in 2009 Streaming television Companies based in London Companies based in Los Angeles Video on demand services