News Corporation owned Fox Network is suing a US satellite operator over a feature on its set top boxes that allows it to skip ads.
According to the LA Times, Fox is joining CBS, Walt Disney/ABC and NBC Universal in a lawsuit against the Dish Network for its AutoHop ad skipping feature.
Unlike similar features used on other set top boxes (such as TiVo), AutoHop is notable because a viewer’s screen can be set to go completely black when an advertisement plays in a recorded program.
Given the recent rollout of Smart TVs by leading manufacturers, as well as the growing popularity of television over the internet through IPTV services (an Australian example being FetchTV), any legal precedents set in the case may have broader implications for the tech sector.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
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