Earlier this year, we profiled FitzyTV, an app that uses your TV Everywhere credentials to stream 75+ live channels from a single app. The app has wide appeal to streamers that don’t want to use a different TV Everywhere app for each network or used multiple streaming services and wanted to view their channels in one place.
Even for those with cable, FitzyTV serves as an extension of your cable box. It essentially gives you access to live TV in an additional room, without having to pay a $10-15 monthly set-top box fee.
Unfortunately, the app has been removed from Google Play and the Amazon App Store as a result of a “legal dispute”, according to the company.
In a message to users, FitzyTV said:
To our loyal users,
When a user pays for TV channels, they should be able to watch those channels in the way that’s most convenient for them. That’s what FitzyTV set out to deliver: a convenient, user-friendly platform to give our users the freedom to watch their paid TV subscriptions where they want, when they want.
Unfortunately, our apps were recently suspended from Google and Amazon’s app stores — a result, we believe, of an ongoing legal dispute with Adobe, which powers the authentication system for all US cable/satellite operators. While we have repeatedly attempted to work with Adobe to resolve the dispute, those attempts have thus far been unsuccessful.
In the Silicon Valley-spirit of innovation, we still hold hope that Adobe will come to see things our way: that the best way to fulfill the promise of TV Everywhere is to give users the best possible experience for their TV subscriptions. We will update you as things progress.
Sincerely,
The FitzyTV Team
While some other services like Aereo, have gotten into legal trouble for the “re-distribution of this content without paying broadcasters any fees”, James Fitzgerald, Founder of FitzyTV, told us in January that they believe they are in the clear. He continued, “we’re not rebroadcasting the channels, and we’re verifying that a user has access to each channel through their provider by using their credentials to unlock the stream.”
At the time, he noted that he has not had any legal or DCMA notices from cable or content providers. Since however, MSG Networks has asked to be removed from the service.
The service also offers a Cloud DVR for $5 per month for every 25 hours of DVR capacity. While most Cloud DVR services record a single copy for all users, FitzyTV stores a unique recording for every user that requests it. He cites the court decision of Cartoon Network, LP v. CSC Holdings, Inc, which allows for cloud recordings so long as the transmitted copy is the “copy requested and recorded by a particular user.” The DVR can record both a single episode or a recurring series.
More recently, the Channels App launched a similar feature that uses TV Everywhere to show streams inside their app. It will be interesting to see if they also face removal from the various App Stores.