New year, renewed criticism of TV Everywhere

The TV Everywhere hybrid TV/Internet video subscription model already has been criticized by some as anti-competitive, but the model reportedly will face new formal challenges today from letters prepared by consumer advocacy groups asking the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the concept, according to a story in The Washington Post.

The TV Everywhere service model, under which subscribers to cable TV, telco TV and satellite TV service packages also would be authorized to watch TV programming and some special content online, amounts to an unfair effort to block out companies such as Hulu that have staked a claim to online TV viewing, the opposition says. Service providers such as Comcast and Verizon Communications have been testing TV Everywhere subscription processes for months.

DoJ and FTC responses were unclear early Monday morning, so stay tuned. TV issues, including TV Everywhere, are likely to be hot topics of discussion at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

For more:
- The Washington Post has this story

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