Cablevision Cleared for Remote-Storage DVR

WASHINGTON, D.C.: A U.S. Supreme Court ruling has cleared the way for the remote-storage DVR from Cablevision Systems, delivering a blow to Hollywood studios and broadcast networks that had been attempting to block the technology.

The ruling is expected to make it cheaper for customers to record and view shows when they want, without the need for a DVR device in the home. The Hollywood studios and networks had attempted to prevent Cablevision from delivering the service to customers, arguing that in the case of remote storage, Cablevision should have to license the content as it would for a video-on-demand service. The Supreme Court ruled that it would not hear arguments on whether or not Cablevision is violating copyright laws with the technology.

Cablevision’s COO, Tom Rutledge, noted: "This is a tremendous victory, and it opens up the possibility of offering a DVR experience to all of our digital cable customers. At the same time, we are mindful of the potential implications for ad skipping and the concerns this has raised in the programming community. We believe there are ways to take this victory and work with programmers to give our customers what they want—full DVR functionality through existing digital set-top boxes—and at the same time deliver real benefits to advertisers. This landmark case gives the cable industry, and Cablevision in particular, the opportunity to do something that our satellite competitors cannot do. We expect to begin deploying the first application of this new technology, the ability to pause live television when the phone rings, as a value-added benefit to our customers later this summer."