CallPlus has taken aim at industry rivals Sky, Mediaworks, TVNZ and Spark, dismissing claims of copyright breaches by insisting its Global Mode service is “completely legal”.
Following threats of legal action against CallPlus, among others, the company has come out fighting, refusing to budge despite accusations of providing digital means to exclusive local content.
“CallPlus, and its subsidiaries Slingshot, Orcon and Flip, strongly believe that access to the internet via Global Mode is completely legal,” a company statement reads.
“The threat of legal action by TVNZ, Mediaworks, SKY and Spark is merely an attempt to restrict consumer choice in favour of their profits.”
According to CallPlus, these companies “want to control the internet”, in a bid to restrict what Kiwis can do online.
“To claim it’s a business to business issue is nonsense,” CallPlus adds. “This is an issue that impacts every Kiwi consumer.
“These four large corporates want to dictate what you can watch, when you can watch it, and how much you pay for it.
“We are in an era of change. The traditional TV model is changing. These companies need to change with it.
“Trying to restrict what you do online is old school non Internet thinking, and shows just how out of touch they are.”
According to CallPlus, with Mark Callander at the helm, the Kiwi public are behind the company.
“Just look at the comments on news articles over the past days,” CallPlus adds.
“These companies need to listen to their audience, and work harder to give consumers what they want.”