Dish Network filed a lawsuit on April 27, 2018, against 247 SmartLife and its TVizion streaming service, naming owner Ferras Jim Pshehalouk. The satellite provider alleges unauthorized distribution of its copyrighted content, specifically citing a UFC pay-per-view event.
Multi-level marketing (MLM) companies offering "streamboxes" for pirated content saw a surge in popularity between 2015 and 2016. Most of these services, which promised free access to premium channels, quickly faced legal challenges and ceased operations. A few, like TVizion, continued to operate despite increasing scrutiny from copyright holders.
247 SmartLife sells a range of products, including pain cream, an alkaline water system, home security equipment, and an expense tracking application. The company also markets TVizion, a service designed to deliver hundreds of channels, movies, live television, sports, and international content. Its promotional material claims users can "Stop wasting money with your current cable company. Enjoy 500+ Channels, Millions of Movies, Live TV, Unlimited Sports, Children Channels, International and Music For Your Whole Family."
Customers pay $249 upfront for TVizion access, followed by a $49.95 monthly subscription fee. Dish Network sent cease and desist letters to 247 SmartLife on March 28 and 29, 2018. The dispute intensified with the broadcast of UFC 223.
According to the lawsuit, 247 SmartLife and TVizion advertised UFC 223 as free for subscribers and for those signing up for a three-day trial. These advertisements ran on the company's Facebook account on March 31 and April 5, 2018. Dish claims that on April 7, 2018, the defendants distributed Dish's proprietary signal of UFC 223 to their service subscribers, including trial users.
Dish Network accuses 247 SmartLife, TVizion, and Ferras Jim Pshehalouk of either directly re-transmitting Dish's programming without authorization or collaborating with others to do so. The lawsuit seeks any profits 247 SmartLife made from the alleged illegal broadcasts. Alternatively, Dish requests statutory damages of up to $100,000 for each violation.
Dish Network has a history of pursuing legal action against entities it accuses of copyright infringement. The company frequently engages in litigation to protect its content distribution rights and licensed programming. This includes high-profile disputes with major content providers and other streaming services over licensing and intellectual property.
As of the lawsuit's filing, 247 SmartLife had not publicly responded to the legal action. The company's social media profiles appeared to be scrubbed of content, but the TVizion service remained advertised on the 247 SmartLife website.