Ivi TV has turned to crowd-funding in order to pay the huge legal bills it will be facing as it gets head-to-head with the cable companies and television networks. But not many people seem to be willing to dip their hands in their pockets.
Ivi TV Service
Ivi TV launched over a year ago, in September 2010, as an app downloadable for free. Once installed on the device of your choice, Ivi TV enabled anyone to stream cable broadcasts over the Internet by taking the live feeds from Seattle and New York and rebroadcasting them to subscribers on the Web.
Ivi TV founder Todd Weaver believed this was legally acceptable thanks to a rewritten passage in the Copyright Act designed to help and protect fledgling local cable systems in the 1970s. But unsurprisingly the cable companies and TV networks disagreed, suing Ivi TV to get it taken offline.
It has been offline since February but Ivi TV has launched an appeal and Weaver is determined to fight this injunction to the bitter end. Which all costs money. And lots of it.
IndieGoGo Fighting Fund
In order to build up a fighting fund Ivi TV is turning to the general public, seeking financing for its no-doubt-mounting legal fees. It is doing so by appealing via IndieGoGo, a crowd-funding venture similar to the better-known Kickstarter.
You pledge a certain amount of money – anything between $5 and $5,000 – and receive a perk as a result. These range from a contributor credit in the software to a smörgåsbord of goodies.
Ivi TV is putting its case very well, stating:
“We are the guys who can finally lower your cable bill … Complete Internet television for under $10/mo on any device, anywhere, anytime.”
Conclusions
The problem Ivi TV faces is that many of us are struggling financially. Certainly to the extent that causes such as this fall by the wayside. While most people would love to see the cable and satellite monopoly challenged, if they don’t see a positive outcome being likely they’re unlikely to throw money at those fighting the good fight.
It doesn’t help that most of the perks being offered to those donating are related to the service resuming. If it doesn’t then, well, I guess those perks become null and void. I wish Ivi TV all the luck in the world in this fight with seemingly insurmountable odds, but luck is all I can personally offer at this stage.
