SiliconDust, maker of the HDHomerun connected TV tuners, is getting out of the pay TV business, at least for now: The company has informed its users that it is shutting down its Premium TV service over the next 30 days. The news comes after major Hollywood studios had sued the company supplying SiliconDust with TV programming.
“We are writing to inform you that we will be ending the HDHomerun Premium TV service over the course of the next 30 days,” the company said in its email to customers, which was first reported by Cord Cutters News. “All individuals currently subscribed to Premium TV will be able to continue their service until their current month of service has concluded, at which time service will not be renewed.”
HDHomeRun Premium TV offered paying subscribers access to 45 channels, including ESPN, CNN, Fox News and TNT, for $34 a month. The company began testing the service last summer, and officially rolled it out later in 2018. Unlike some of the other TV subscription packages, Premium TV also allowed consumers to record shows locally, which made it easier to skip ads.
The problem for SiliconDust was that Premium TV was powered by Omniverse One World Television, a company that recently got sued by major Hollywood studios for alleged copyright infringement. Omniverse has defended itself by claiming that it obtained a far-reaching license to redistribute satellite TV programming over the internet, but the lawsuit put the future of services powered by the company in doubt.
SiliconDust didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday, but the company has made it clear to customers that the decision to shut down Premium TV isn’t affecting its core business.
“We want to thank you for your business, and we want to assure you that we are not done innovating,” the company said in its email. “We are excited about upcoming plans for improving the cord cutting and cord shaving experiences.”