Viacom, Cablevision settle suit over iPad TV app

SAN FRANCISCO — Cablevision Systems Corp. and Viacom Inc., the owner of MTV and other cable TV channels, have settled a lawsuit over software that lets subscribers view Viacom channels and individual shows on demand on their iPads.

Viacom had sought millions of dollars in damages and an injunction preventing Cablevision from offering its Optimum app. Viacom said the app infringes on its copyrights. Cablevision says it’s an extension of a cable service that customers already pay for.

The companies did not give details of the settlement, though they said in a joint statement that they were “able to resolve the iPad matter and an unrelated business matter to their mutual satisfaction.”

“Neither side is conceding its original position or will have further comment,” the companies said Wednesday.

Viacom filed the lawsuit in June in U.S. District Court in New York.

The app is one of many moves by cable, satellite and other TV providers to give paying subscribers the ability to watch programs on a variety of devices. There’s no charge beyond what subscribers already pay monthly for television service. The app, which was rolled out in April and is free to Cablevision’s digital cable subscribers, allows customers to watch on the iPad only while they are in their own homes using Wi-Fi provided by a Cablevision modem.

Cablevision, which is based in Bethpage, N.Y., is not the only cable TV distributor with which Viacom has sparred over the availability of its shows on the iPad. A day before the Cablevision lawsuit was filed, Viacom and Time Warner Cable Inc., both based in New York, agreed to postpone a legal battle over a similar iPad app to try to reach a deal.