Small broadcasters accuse a cable operator of unfair competition, and the latter threatens to go to court

At a press conference on Monday, representatives of some broadcasting companies accused the StarNet company of unfair competition and piracy, which allegedly causes them significant damage. StarNet denies these accusations and threatens to file a lawsuit against the organizers of the conference.

According to small broadcasters, StarNet airs films and televisions through its cable network without having the necessary rights. “StarNet creates a situation of unfair competition. Having a well developed infrastructure and national coverage, the company illegally provides the best offers at the lowest prices, practically suffocating smaller competitors and gaining huge profits,” the Broadcasting Employers Association of Moldova says in a press release.

President of the Broadcasting Employers Association Vladimir Topal, cited by the IPN agency, mentioned that for already three years StarNet had been providing subscription packages including over one hundred TV channels. The majority of them are not covered by copyright on the territory of Moldova. These are Russian channels Pervyi Kanal, STS and TNT; Romanian Dolce Sport and Sport.Ro; and the movie channels ProCinema and Premiera. According to Topal, the company had been penalized by the Broadcasting Coordinating Council with fines and withdrawal of its license, but it challenged the Council’s decision in court and continued working.

“StarNet works without an authorization (since IPTV is not regulated), and so far has been providing piracy broadcasting of an important number of channels, thus creating unfair competition on the market,” said Ghenadie Osoianu, director of the Elechservice-Grup company, which provides television services in the north of Moldova.

In its turn, StarNet denies these accusations. “As regards the IPTV service, we must note that StarNet is the platform through which this service reaches users’ homes. The company’s partner – the TV BOX firm – provides the media content. We assure everyone that all the channels from the packages of StarNet are transmitted 100% legally and contracts have been signed for all of them,” StarNet spokeswoman Irina Ghelbur said for the IPN agency.

According to her, StarNet will file lawsuits against the “companies and individuals who denigrated the company’s image, thus damaging its work.”

Source of photo: http://ipn.md