Has Commercial Advertisement Taken Over and Ruined Everything?

[HAB911]

22. I'm wearing out my mute button

They killed ReplayTV for enabling commercial skipping

On October 31, 2001, numerous TV companies, including the three major networks, filed a lawsuit against SONICblue, which at the time marketed the ReplayTV device. They alleged that the ReplayTV 4000 series was part of an “unlawful scheme” that “attacks the fundamental economic underpinnings of free television and basic nonbroadcast services” according to the lawsuit.

The TV industry attacked ReplayTV for two reasons:

The machines enabled people to record television programs and then watch them without commercials via the optional "Commercial Advance" feature.[6] This had the potential to undercut advertising revenues which the lawsuit called "the lifeblood of most television channels".
The machines allowed users to share programs they have recorded with others via the "Send Show" feature, which transmits digital copies of shows not only on a local network, but also over the Internet to other ReplayTV owners, thereby enabling people who had not paid for premium channels to watch premium content for free.
Both the “Commercial Advance” and the “Send Show” features were alleged to violate U.S. copyright and other federal and state laws, according to the TV industry plaintiffs, who wanted sales of the ReplayTV 4000 devices—slated for shipment on Nov. 15, 2001—stopped.[7]

The lawsuit against SONICblue was stayed when the company filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2003. In August 2003, the ReplayTV 5500 series went on sale without the “Autoskip” and “Send Show” features though the features continued to be enabled on the earlier models.