Time Warner Cable sues Viacom over iPad carriage

Time Warner Cable has filed a request for declaratory judgment relating to US-based media group Viacom's cable networks. The request asks the court to rule that Time Warner Cable's rights under its carriage agreement allow it to deliver the Viacom channels over its cable systems for viewing on devices of its video customers' choosing, including iPads, in their homes. The case was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Viacom filed a suit of its own, seeking damages for what it says is TWC's breach of their licensing and distribution agreements, Reuters reports. Viacom, News Corp and Discovery Communications all have ordered Time Warner Cable to stop ofering their channels on its iPad app, saying that their current carriage agreements do not permit the cable company to deliver live programing on devices like the iPad. Time Warner Cable argues that the network owners are imposing "artificial limits" on the screens it can distribute programing to customers.