Hollywood, Netflix and Amazon look to put a stop to a ‘premium’ streaming service

Set TV, a subscription IPTV service in the US, has found itself the center of a lawsuit, accused of mass copyright infringement.

The lawsuit comes from a group that consists of some of the biggest studios in Hollywood - Disney, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros are all mentioned, as well as Netflix and Amazon.

The lawsuit filed against Set TV alleges that the service “relies on third-party sources that illicitly reproduce copyrighted works and then provide streams of popular content such as movies still exclusively in theaters and television shows.”

Cutting the cord

This type of lawsuit isn’t uncommon, given movie and TV studios are extremely protective of their IP, but having so many big names team up against a single potential copyright infringer is noteworthy, especially one that touts itself as a paid service.

One of the reasons may be how professional the service looks, with the lawsuit explaining that on the surface it does look legitimate.

“For the customers who use Setvnow, the service provides hallmarks of using authorized streaming services - a user-friendly interface and reliable access to popular content - but with a notable exception: the customers only pay money to Defendants, not to Plaintiffs and other content creators upon whose copyrighted works Defendants’ business depends,” the suit reads.

If the lawsuit is successful, the service would be shutdown and there could be substantial fines, too - $150,000 for each piece of content on the site that infringes copyright. Given Set TV offer 500+ channels, these costs could well spiral.

Having 500+ channels for just $20 a month does seem like a bargain. Currently, the cheapest Sling TV Package offer 30+ channels for $20. YouTube TV lets you view 50+ YouTube TV channels for $49, while Hulu and DirecTV also have competitive pricing for 50-60 channels.