Rambler Group is Russia’s third-largest internet company and it is suing Twitch streaming service for nearly $3 billion. The Amazon-owned company had allegedly broadcast the widely watched English Premier League (EPL) games, breaching regulations.
Rambler Group mentioned that their exclusive broadcasting rights to the EPL games were violated. An action it is saying Twitch was guilty of, over 36,000 times between August and November 2019.
Its terms and conditions state users cannot share content without permission from the copyright owners, including films, television programmes, and sports matches.
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It is seeking to permanently ban the platform owned by Amazon in Russia.
However, Twitch’s lawyer calls Rambler’s case “unfounded”.
Russia is the third-largest user of Twitch, which has more than 15 million daily active users worldwide.
Twitch’s lawyer, Julianna Tabastaeva, told a Russian news website, Kommersant that Twitch “only provides users with access to the platform and is unable to change the content posted by users, or track possible violations”.
She also states the company took “all necessary measures to eliminate the violations, despite not receiving any official notification from Rambler”.
Court Suspends Premier League Streams On Twitch
The Moscow City Court will hear the case on 20th December 2019. In the meantime, the court orders a temporary suspension of EPL streams on Twitch pending the outcome.
Rambler holds exclusive digital distribution rights for the EPL in 2019, after buying the rights for three seasons.
“Our suit against Twitch is to defend our exclusive rights to broadcast English Premier League matches and we will continue to actively combat pirate broadcasts,” Mikhail Gershkovich, head of Rambler Group’s sports project, said in a statement.
It is, however, in talks with Twitch hoping to reach a settlement agreement outside of court.
Amazon also holds the exclusive rights to a number of EPL matches in the UK over the next three years.
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