Twitch sued for £2.1bn over Premier League by Russian firm -

[TopCat]

Russia's third-largest internet company is suing streaming service Twitch for 180bn roubles (£2.1bn) over pirate broadcasts of English Premier League games.

Rambler Group alleges its exclusive broadcasting rights were breached by the service more than 36,000 times between August and November.

It is seeking to permanently ban the Amazon-owned platform in Russia.

Twitch's lawyer has called Rambler's case "unfounded".

Russia is the third-largest user of Twitch, which has more than 15 million daily active users worldwide.

Its terms and conditions state users cannot share content without permission from the copyright owners, including films, television programmes and sports matches.

The streaming giant's lawyer, Julianna Tabastaeva, told Russian-language news website Kommersant Twitch "only provides users with access to the platform and is unable to change the content posted by users, or track possible violations".

She added the company took "all necessary measures to eliminate the violations, despite not receiving any official notification from Rambler".

The Moscow City Court will hear the case on 20 December.

It has ordered a temporary suspension of English Premier League streams on Twitch pending the outcome.

"Our suit against Twitch is to defend our exclusive rights to broadcast English Premier League matches and we will continue to actively combat pirate broadcasts," said Mikhail Gershkovich, head of Rambler Group's sports project, in a statement.

BBC News has contacted Amazon for comment.

Rambler bought exclusive digital distribution rights for the English Premier League in 2019, for three seasons.

It is holding talks with Twitch in the hope of reaching a settlement agreement.

Amazon holds the exclusive rights to a number of Premier League matches in the UK over the next three years.

The company bought Twitch for $970m (£585m) in 2014.

Twitch sued for £2.1bn over Premier League games

The Amazon-owned streaming giant is facing claims it illegally broadcast matches.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Hatoful Dandy]

WTF I like soccer and Russian telecoms now...

 

[GrotesqueBushes]

I'm sure twitch thots will show solidarity and save the platform that has given them so much.

 

[The Fool]

This is what happens when you go international. You get every single country that isn't the US trying to sue and ban you.

 

[Oskar Dirlewanger]

Imagine if football destroyed the gay "gaming" streaming website. Ultimate mogging of chad over nerd.

Also you have to be exceptional to watch football on twitch when there's ton of normal websites with free streams.

 

[Kheapathic]

I imagine Twitch's lawyers are as involved as their mods.

Twitch's lawyer has called the case unfounded; while quietly mumbling into his cell phone, "There were no re-broadcasts on the platform, right?"

 

[ApatheticViewer]

Twitch's lawyer has called the case unfounded; while quietly mumbling into his cell phone,
"There were no re-broadcasts on the platform, right?"

r/LivestreamFail - So apparently Twitch has specifically e-mailed partners that they can stream COPYRIGHTED content as long as the VOD is deleted afterwards and the stream is unlisted. Screenshot taken from a channel who has already done multiple movie nights without any warnings.

7,387 votes and 337 comments so far on Reddit

www.reddit.com

 

[Immortal Technique]

I wonder if this going to change the landscape of Twitch like the youtube v. viacom lawsuit changed YT? This whole time I thought it would be CIPA crippling Twitch for being a softcore porn site for kids, but the Premiere League coming from left-field is a twist.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

I can't imagine Russian courts having a lot of teeth over Twitch.

 

[Safir]

I can't imagine Russian courts having a lot of teeth over Twitch.

They can order it blocked. Many Russians can't (afford to) pay for paid VPN, especially children, and good luck streaming or watching a stream through Tor.

 

[Marissa Moira]

Is this 2 billion in Russian money or is it 2 billion in real money?

 

[Chive Turkey]

They can order it blocked. Many Russians can't (afford to) pay for paid VPN, especially children, and good luck streaming or watching a stream through Tor.

This. There's something like 35 million people under the age of 30 in Russian, and I'd bet per capita viewership of Twitch is higher there than in the West because poorfag vatniks love low-cost escapism from their short, bleak lives. Even if only 0,5% of them semi-regularly use Twitch, that's a large enough number for a site with an average viewership at any given time of just over a million to permantly lose.

 

[The best and greatest]

Is this 2 billion in Russian money or is it 2 billion in real money?

They're called Rubles and they're worth exactly ten Pickadillies or seven unicorn hooves depending on which realm of the enchanted forest you're trading in.