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Viacom Blocks CableOne Broadband Customers From Online Content

Back in 2010 News Corporation raised the retransmission fee dispute bar to a new level of annoying by blocking Cablevision broadband user access to their content on Hulu as well. Interfering with broadband user access to online content has since also become a favored tactic of Viacom, who blocked access to their content on Hulu for everybody just to make sure DirecTV customers couldn't get access to it.

Viacom's now using the tactic in their fight with CableOne, who pulled 15 Viacom channels from their lineup April 1 over carriage fee hikes. Viacom has now blocked CableOne access to all free Viacom online video content, something American Cable Association president Matt Polka proclaims is a "flagrant attack" on Internet openness:
quote:
“Viacom’s actions are a flagrant attack on Internet openness and a textbook replay of the vengeful action CBS took against Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks broadband customers during their well-documented retransmission consent dispute last August," said Polka. “All who care about ensuring access to content on the Internet should be outraged that Viacom is selectively blocking access to its public websites by broadband Internet subscribers served by smaller cable companies."
So far the FCC has declared that interfering with Internet access to generally-available content during business disputes to be a perfectly acceptable symptom of "boys being boys." "Cable One has chosen to no longer carry Viacom programming and, as a result, it is no longer available to Cable One customers in any form," is all Viacom has been willing to say publicly.

Most recommended from 28 comments



Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

5 recommendations

Duramax08

Premium Member

Ha

Way to piss off users who get their content legit. They'll now seek other ways to get ahold of that content, if you like it or not.