p2pnet news view | Advertising:- Universal and Warner Bros claim Swiss website Zattoo, a consumer control aficionado with “with current focus on European channels, licensed content, and Digital Rights Management,” as the Wikipedia sums it up, is improperly adding advertising to flicks shown on German TV via its P2P service.

“Zattoo has responded by saying that the adverts in question are merely those shown on TV by the German broadcasters ARD and ZDF, and that it is operating legally under a licensing deal with the two companies,” says The Guardian.

However, says the story, “a court in Hamburg has ordered Zattoo to stop showing streams for the two stations until the case is resolved”.

The ads are only displayed, “when users switch between channels – using the time to buffer a new channel to show a short advertisement,” it says, going on:

“Whatever the outcome of the case, it has potential ramifications for the online TV industry worldwide. While services like the BBC’s iPlayer and US television site Hulu are trying to make more broadcast content available online, some producers are pushing back against the prospect of other companies commercialising their content.”

Project Kangaroo, “an advertising-supported equivalent to iPlayer, was shut down by British regulators amid fears that it would distort the market – potentially opening the way for Hulu to move in and launch an international version,” The Guardian adds.

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The Guardian – Hollywood launches action against European TV website, May 20, 2009