Remember that super-awesome iPad app that let you lounge around in your PJs, while simultaneously being hooked up to some 30-plus cable channels? Hopefully you’re not too attached to watching Fox on your iPad, because the television network sent a cease-and-desist letter, asking the channel to be pulled from the app.
When the app first rolled out, 17 channels had to be removed because the demand was just overwhelming. There was some suspicion that this really wasn’t the case – maybe it was a guise to cover up how unhappy the networks were – but the channels eventually returned. Then, just recently, Time Warner Cable launched its campaign, “I Want My TWC Cable App,” in an attempt to fight networks who opposed it.
Well, Fox has made their unhappiness known – in writing. The network formally voiced their complaints, and is possibly the beginning of what could eventually turn into a lawsuit, according to Bloomberg. The network wants FX and other channels pulled, joining Scripps Networks in its complaints.
“These cases occur under a cloud where contracts were signed in a pre-existing world when new technologies weren’t around yet,” Handel said in a telephone interview. “If they had anticipated the new technology and talked about it specifically, you wouldn’t have the problem.”
The agreement is not clear on whether the cable company is allowed to provide the channel on other devices besides a television. Fox, from its complaints, apparently thinks the iPad lies outside the realm of this legal contract. Time Warner Cable says there is no issue: After all, you can’t leave home using it.
(via Bloomberg)
More on TIME.com:
TWC Launches “I Want My TWC Cable App” Website, Attack On TV Networks
Why Did 17 Channels Temporarily Disappear From TWC’s iPad App?