Ferras Jim Pshehalouk, also known as Jim Ferras, faces a $5.9 million judgment from a 2015 copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Dish Network against his TVizion company. Now, a new entity, 7Up TV, operates under a similar model. Its website, registered privately in November 2019, offers no management details.
Pshehalouk did not appear in court to defend the Dish Network suit, resulting in the default judgment. This legal setback did not halt his operations. Instead, TVizion rebranded as NuMedia. This new company continued to distribute unauthorized content streams, mirroring TVizion's previous activities. 7Up TV now circulates as a seemingly separate operation, though it appears to be another offshoot of the same underlying content distribution model. The repeated rebrands suggest a strategy to evade accountability from intellectual property rights holders.
7Up TV offers a subscription service for $29.77 per month. It advertises access to "10,500+ channels, over 5,000+ VOD (Video On Demand), TV series and thousands of international channels." The company claims no ownership of broadcast rights for any of this content. This mirrors the offerings of both NuMedia and the original TVizion. The service does not sell to retail customers. All individuals signing up for 7Up TV are classified as affiliates, regardless of whether they actively recruit others. This business model means every "customer" is also a potential recruiter.
The compensation plan for 7Up TV affiliates primarily rewards recruitment. New recruits can earn bonuses for signing up others within their first 30 days. Seven recruits generate a $100 bonus. Fourteen recruits yield $200, and twenty-one recruits result in $300. Ongoing commissions operate through a unilevel structure, capped at seven levels deep. Affiliates earn $2 for each monthly subscription within their downline across unlocked levels. The number of unlocked levels depends on personal recruitment: one recruit unlocks the first level, two recruits unlock the first two levels, and seven recruits unlock all seven available levels. These commissions assume downline recruits maintain their $29.77 monthly subscription. The system incentivizes continuous recruitment to unlock higher earning potential.
7Up TV faces legal challenges on multiple fronts. The use of "7UP" infringes on the registered trademark of Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. This adds a trademark violation to the existing copyright infringement issues. A more significant problem for the business model is its structure. An organization without genuine retail sales, where all participants are affiliates, typically fits the definition of a pyramid scheme under US law. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a long history of pursuing such schemes, often citing the lack of legitimate product sales to end-users outside the compensation structure. The company's own promotional materials emphasize earning "big upfront bonuses and huge downline residual income down to 7 levels" through monthly subscriptions. This income stream relies almost entirely on recruiting new affiliates, not on sales to external customers.
Companies built on pirated content often experience short lifespans. Copyright holders, including major broadcasters like HBO, sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA, and film studios like Disney, actively pursue legal action against such distributors. These enforcement efforts target both the operators and, in some cases, the networks facilitating the illegal distribution. Pshehalouk's past refusal to defend the Dish Network lawsuit suggests a pattern of non-compliance and evasion. Should other content owners or regulatory bodies pursue 7Up TV, the company would likely either dissolve or rebrand yet again, leaving its affiliates with no recourse. Participants in pyramid schemes statistically lose money, with only a tiny fraction at the top making significant gains. When combined with a product based on stolen intellectual property, the financial and legal risks for affiliates increase significantly. People may join these services out of frustration with traditional cable providers. But building a business around stolen content carries substantial consequences for all involved.
Affiliates of 7Up TV risk not only financial loss from a collapsing scheme but also potential legal exposure for their involvement in an infringing network. Individuals who believe they have been defrauded can report such schemes to the Federal Trade Commission or their state's Attorney General for investigation.