What’s Up with Willow TV: Cricket Fans Served Legal Notices for Streaming Pirated Video
by Devanshu Mehta
This is a developing story (FAQ, Feedback), and continues to be updated as new information is available. If you have received the legal notice below, I would love to talk with you about it. (email, Twitter, Facebook or the comments below)
A large number of people are showing up on this blog searching for “willow tv” and “legal notices” and “offer of settlement”. Anyone know what’s up?
UPDATE:
Ok, here’s the deal. Popular cricket streaming service, Willow TV, is sending out legal notices (below) to (alleged) subscribers of (allegedly) illegal streams. The person is given a choice of either facing legal consequences or subscribing to Willow TV for $14.99 per month or paying $200/pirated-match.
UPDATE #2:
I am not a lawyer. I don’t play one on TV.
- Is this legitimate?
Yes, it is. I’ve had a brief conversation with the Willow CEO on Twitter, instigated by David Mutton (full conversation). - Is there precedent?
Again, I’m not a lawyer. But this is similar to what the RIAA pulled off against people who (allegedly) downloaded pirated music. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a comprehensive history of how that played out. The settlement proposed here by Willow is significantly cheaper than the RIAA shenanigans. If you have questions about this sort of thing, EFF may be a good place to start. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) faced a similar problem to Willow TV, and sued streaming service providers. - But this is different, right?
Yes, this is different in many significant ways. The RIAA sent letters to people who distributed pirated music. Also, unlike UFC, Willow TV is going after people who are streaming video, not those serving it. Willow TV is explicitly giving fans a chance to become customers, or face legal action. The other difference is the offer of amnesty.
Finally, while there is legal precedent regarding downloading pirated content, there doesn’t seem to be as much about streaming. Technically, there is a difference between the more ephemeral streaming user and the permanence of a download. - How did Willow TV get email addresses?
The Willow TV CEO, Mr. Srinivasan, has stated on Twitter that the information was obtained through subpoenas on service providers. Last year, Willow had sued a large number of defendants for illegal streaming of cricket in the United States. Mr. Srinivasan spoke with GigaOm last year about the piracy problem, and how his company is tackling it.
A few more points. As the Willow CEO, Mr. Srinivasan, pointed out on Twitter, I don’t think there’s much precedent regarding offering amnesty by turning pirates in to customers. It’s novel, and if both parties agree that a stream was pirated, I actually like that solution.
But that’s the problem– this approach starts with an assumption of guilt. If you receive this email, you have no recourse but to pay Willow or hire a lawyer. The cheaper option is an admission of guilt. Which means that even for the innocent, the better option may be to pay Willow. The reality of the legal system is that the party with deeper pockets wins by default, regardless of legal merit or actual guilt.
Which is why some on Twitter and in the comments below are using the words “extortion” and “blackmail” to describe this tactic. I’ve defended Willow from that language so far, but if more people (like in the comments on this post) claim to be innocent cricket fans caught in the cross-fire, this could get ugly.
UPDATE #3:
Also, here are a few recurring themes in the comments I’ve received from affected individuals on Twitter, in email and in the comments below:
- Willow’s email looks illegitimate, partly because there is no postal address or phone number which seems like a reasonable thing to expect in a legal notice.
- There is no legal guarantee of amnesty if an individual chooses to pay to become a customer. In fact, some worry that it could constitute an admission of guilt.
- The email does not state which illegal services the individual subscribed to. In fact, there is no specific information about the violation, so the email looks more like extortion than an actual legal notice.
- Some pirated streaming service represented themselves as the copyright holder. Users of that service had no idea that Willow held the rights to the broadcast.
- Some individuals claim hat the pirated stream didn’t even work, so there is no instance of an actual violation.
- Some individuals are not in the United States, and may not be in violation of the law cited in the email.
Many readers have posted their experiences in the comments below. Thank you, and keep your responses coming either by email, twitter or the comments below.
UPDATE #4:
Here is a frequently asked questions document I am putting together. Please let me know if you have additional questions for that page– either questions for me, or to pose to Willow. Thanks.
UPDATE #5:
Many people have been asking me to act as an intermediary between them and Willow, or help in other ways. So far, I’ve been reporting on this as a news story, providing a single resource for all currently known information and a forum for affected parties to communicate. I have also gotten in touch with the Willow TV CEO over Twitter, and asked him or his lawyer to look at feedback in the comments. Beyond this, there is little I can do, especially since this is a legal matter in which I am neither a lawyer, nor an affected party.
UPDATE #6:
Willow TV CEO Mr. Srinivasan just sent me the link to an FAQ that they have put up on their site that addresses many questions people had in the comments below.
∞
Here is the text of the notice:
Willow TV: Legal Notice and Offer of Settlement
Dear Xyz
This email is being sent to you from Willow TV International, Inc. (“Willow TV”), which owns the exclusive rights to distribute and stream cricket matches in the United States and Canada, as well as the rest of North America, including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and the national cricket matches for Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa amongst other boards, for the 2010-2011 season (“Copyright Protected Matches”). Willow TV filed a Federal lawsuit against various website owners that we allege illegally sold pirated downloads and video streams of the Copyright Protected Matches. A copy of the abbreviated lawsuit filed in court in available here. Willow TV subpoenaed the records of these various websites and the evidence indicates that you purchased at least one of the illegal streams offered by at least one of these defendants in violation of law.
It is a violation of Willow TV’s copyright and the law to purchase or view the illegal stream whether it was knowing or unknowing. Under 17 U.S.C § 501 et seq., anyone who participates in the infringement of a copyright is liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 per infringement, and up to $150,000 if the infringement is willful.
Willow TV will fully pursue this lawsuit to the fullest extent of the law against those who operate businesses and illegally provide pirated cricket matches in violation of their rights; however, it has no interest in pursuing a lawsuit against the viewers and fans of cricket matches, so we would like to deal with the evidence that has been presented to us in the best way possible.
We would like to provide you a way out of the continued exposure to liability that comes with viewing cricket matches illegally through pirated websites.
Complete Release and Waiver of Liability Offer.
Willow TV will provide you with a onetime release of all claims and liability for any and all past illegal downloads or streaming views of cricket matches you may have purchased or viewed from any of the defendants listed in the attached lawsuit. The release will be provided on the condition that you commit to watching any of your future cricket matches legally through http://www.willow.tv for the next year. The authorized service is currently $14.99/month and allows you, the customer, to watch the live video streaming of all cricket content offered by Willow TV, on its website http://www.willow.tv (and on its channel on YouTube, and on smartphones, etc.) for a period of one year. Willow TV is the official license holder for various cricket boards worldwide for this period (including Cricket boards of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England and others), and it is the only way to watch these matches legally in North America. After the 12 month period, on request, you will receive a release of all past claims and liability from Willow TV for any crickets matches you may have purchased or viewed in violation of Willow TV’s exclusive rights to distribute and stream those matches in North America.
If you wish to take advantage of this offer for a full release of liability please visit the website http://www.willow.tv, and purchase the monthly package of $14.99. (Or you can directly buy it by clicking here). Please use the same email id to which this email is sent, as your login id on willow.tv while making the purchase.
After one year of continued service, the release email will be sent to you on request to legal@willow.tv.
Alternatively, if you have subscribed to the Willow Cricket Channel on DISH Network or DIRECTV, you can email legal@willow.tv with a copy of your bill showing your active subscription, with your first and last name indicated clearly as the subscriber on file.
If you do not wish to commit to viewing cricket matches legally through Willow TV you may contact us and we will provide you with a settlement demand based on the number of your purchases and streaming views of cricket matches that were in violation of Willow TV’s rights ($200 per match or $1000 for a package purchased from a pirate site) and a release will be provided after final settlement, or simply do nothing and we will continue our investigation against you and we may be forced to name you as a defendant to the lawsuit. If you are named as a defendant we will pursue the full statutory damages provided in 17 U.S.C § 501 et seq.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
Willow TV
Previously on DeepBackwardPoint.com:
Deep Backward Point 
Huh.
Interesting.
I wonder what, if anything, this means for the future of the channel?
Doubt it will affect the channel. Just standard anti-piracy crap. Going after the little guys, hoping it will serve as a deterrent.
Its BS.. delete the email and forget all about it. A friend of mine from college used to get notices from HBO, willow, etc on a weekly basis.
Is this even legit? I got it even though I use Willow. I used it for WC and after that everything is being streamed on bcci.tv so never had to use it again. Obviously, there is no customer service number to call, just a random email address. Anyone know whats going on here? This looks extremely fishy.
It is legit. Look at the update to the post above. I’ve had a twitter conversation with the Willow CEO.
[…] available via Willow.tv here in the states, only in Canada. Why this is, I don’t know, but considering Willow.tv is having its law firm contact those that watch cricket illegally, I think I will stick to following these matches via Cricinfo. Too bad, though, as I think all […]
This will fail in court. In viewing any video stream, even though files get downloaded in temp directory, you can’t re-create video file. the law that willow has mentioned is applicable only to download not to streaming. There are lots of gray areas here.
Well, Devanshu thats the problem I have with this email. I dont mind paying $180 to Willow for the yearly subscription, infact thats what I was going to do before the third test. Where is the guarantee that they will send me the release after a year? Is the letter enough? I mean, I got to know their CEOs name through this blog, its not even on their website. They dont even have a number.
I was actually going to sign up for the Ind-Aus series but now I dont know whether I should just go ahead and sign up(which would mean admitting guilt despite not having committed the act) or wait for them to sort this out. And just looking at the forums on the internet they dont seem to be a very responsive organization. And from my experience during the WC, they dont really care too much about complaints either.
Additionally, they have this “release after a year on request” and given the way they behave with complaints lots of people are not going to trust them to give it after a year even if they are willing subscribers @$15/month.
Now I am stuck. I’d love to sign up with them (I have a bet sachin scores his 100th in Perth!!) but given their lack of customer service and responsiveness and the fact that I am not a lawyer, I am not sure what else they can do. They are not really known for their efficiency, now are they?
It sounds a bit like blackmail because of the lack of identification. There is no name, no lawyers name nothing, just an email address. Not even a phone number. I’d readily sign up tomorrow if the CEO or the customer rep.-in-charge or the lawyer sends me the same email but with their name at the end. Then it tells me this is legit and they are trying to deter piracy. I have no problems with that.
The way they are going currently, blackmail is going to be how its perceived. All Willow has to do is go a little more public with this and give it a name or at the very least a telephone number and become a little more responsive. I think mostly everyone who they sent this email too will be more than happy to sign up if they do that. Afterall, everyone wants to watch cricket at the end, $180 for a year is nothing in the long run.
Even I have a similar problem. I was planning on subscribing to Willow for the only reason that they stream to ipad and iphone devices. But now I am in a dilemma whether i should go ahead as it would mean accepting that i am a guilty party in the lawsuit and could be targeted specifically in the future. Also on what grounds should i accept the fact that Willow TV will grant leniency after 1 yr? They might well as ask me to subscribe for another year at the end of next yr. So the only way for me to even consider signing up would be if they have a contract that explicitly claims that i would need only a year long binding to absolve me of the guilt and that doesnt seem to be the case right now
Not much choice but to take Willow TV at face value.
I don’t believe that’s how the law works – especially in a country like the US. You can’t just be forced to take a corporation at face value because they are more resourceful than you.
They have done all of this in such a shoddy way. Nobody will commit to anything for a year without proper documentation, or legal contract.
I got the letter too with additional line that since I was a willow subscriber, I get the first six months for $7.50
So here are the issues
1) This came to my SPAM Email
2) Seeing this blog, it looks like it was sent by Willow? but again this is all web based
3) The whole case seems to be based on an email address, so if I had willow account and then someone signed up with those websites with the same email ( for sign up ) then its my case? I had lost credit card and helped old roommates to buy things?
4) It doesn’t show any information such as purchase info, date, what matches. If I genuinely didn’t purchase, how can I challenge it?
5) Same concern as others, if I pay the whole year, whats the guarantee that we will get release form? can there be liaison between willow and the users
6) I am Dish Subscriber, and I have Willow and they have asked to forward bill showing name? so I am supposed to willfully send a scanned copy with name, address to an email address which doesn’t have all the specifics and open myself to more trouble and identity theft?
7) For those who don’t want to be bothered, can we way $180 or $135 in advance? for the full year and get the release form
8) Is all this legitimate via email, I assumed one has to send registered mail with law firms contact
Will this site act as a liaison between CEO or Willow and us?
Sorry, I can’t act as a liaison in a legal matter. But I have asked Mr. Srinivasan to read the comments here, insisting to him that people have legitimate concerns.
Interesting isn`t it. This is a pure fear tactic. Deepbackwardpoint…could you put together a list of concerns and questions to Willow. What Canadian laws (for the Canadians) are they citing; Who is the contact or signatory to the willow email; what instance did the users break the law…give us a date and a time etc. having an email address or a payment means nothing…show proof that it was downloaded or streamed….
I echo most of the sentiments above. I don’t care how legitimate this email is – Willow TV has lost sight of the spirit of piracy. By going after people who were duped by illegal sites into thinking they were buying the right product, Willow TV is showing that they are simply out there to extort money.
The lack of transparency in the email is a cause for concern. You cannot expect people to dish over a commitment of $180 without a convincing argument.
I, like most people, will be willing to pay the required amount and get out of any liability but the way they have approached this is quite ridiculous. You sent out this legal notice through a marketing and newsletter distributing agency – who in the world does that?
What if me email had changed, what if I had given my credit card to someone else? You guys seriously need to get proper with this.
My problems:
I live in a country where apparently willow tv does not stream (they claim to be North America only). How did I infringe their copyright when they did not have a right to broadcast here to begin with. And if that is true, what would be the legal status for harassing people from all over the world.
Lastly, even if I want to pay them off to keep things straight and simple for myself, subscription link for the montly package on their website comes up with this error message
‘ERROR
There are currently no packages for this event
We may be able to announce packages at a later date. Please visit again later.
‘
Ditto for the link in their email.
I wonder if this is because I am accessing it from a country where they do not normally broadcast? Or is it because they actually do not intend to offer these packages and are simply phishing for information by having people click them on phony links in their email.
I don;t think $15/month is a bad deal there are quite a few series coming up which I would love to watch.
Any other experiences?
MP
If you’re not in North America, I doubt this applies to you. But what do I know.
You are correct, I am in Canada and I cannot purchase it either
I thought Willow worked in Canada.
No it doesn’t. And the irony is, I first intended to buy from Willow but had to resort to another PAID stream because I am in Canada. How then am I in violation of the copyright? I didn’t even know Willow had a monopoly nor did it cross my mind that paying money to someone would be illegal. I just thought to myself – healthy competition. But obviously not.
Can you please ask the CEO of this website to come out and be proper about the whole process? I, like many others, am willing to sort this out. But if Willow thinks they can be vague, ambiguous, threatening, dodgy, sketchy and informal about the whole process and have people bend over, they are wrong.
And also, I noticed you said to him on twitter that he clearly had some sort of impact. He didn’t quite have an impact, nobody is shaking in their boots – he just incensed people by putting hard working, innocent individuals under the spotlight for wrongs that were committed by others. I understand Willow lost money, but coming after the end users is not the right way. There are existing users of Willow whom I have read are closing their account because they don’t want to be associated with such a thug. Willow maybe able to coerce people into buying their year long subscriptions right now, but come a year from now, their balance sheets will be heavily read.
What about Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia,… I know people in these countries cannot get willow. Willow’s name was the first to come to mind whenever I wanted to watch cricket online because I had used them many years ago when I was in the US but I found that it does not work here. Even now I can’t access the demo/test stream on their youtube channel. It comes up with a message saying the that the uploader has not made it available in my country.
Same for ‘buy subscription’ links on their website
I would contact the Attorney General’s office as well as the state’s Senator and Congressmen’s office with a copy of the notice and see what they say. If enough people do this, it would grab their attention and will deal with this matter in their own way – especially this year being an election year.
First thing the targeted audience did not had any intention to cheat.. they were duped..
Second is that the law they are citing doesn’t hold anything against the viewers but only against broadcasters..
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#501
And finally.. I have 11$ in my account and thats all.. i’m kinda broke.. what the heck will they do not.. 😉
Also, the law related to streaming seems to be unsettled. And $11 won’t pay for even a month of Willow :).
Does “Occupy Willow” ring a bell?
Catchy!
[…] of Willow.tv’s online video offering, or alternatively pay $200 per pirated match (hat tip to Deep Backward Point.) This kind of pre-lawsuit settlement offer was pioneered during the Recording Industry Association […]
How do they expect things to proceed like this? No discussion, no contact number nothing? There are some legitimate questions on this website. A lot of us have done NOTHING wrong.
This is ridiculous.
So what is next ? I view some pirated video which is put on youtube and I have to pay for that ?
Is it the end user’s responsibility to ensure that the streamer owns the copyright ?
How do I verify that willow is streaming legally ? and not pirating from Star/Sony ?
Would really like to see this go to court 🙂
I hope the message is read by folks at Willow TV also.
I am die hard Pakistan cricket fan. I do my best to at least follow my team on cricinfo. Like many, I also received the “legal” notice. Like many, I too have purchased programming from Willow TV in the past. Do you know how we came to know about other sites? Because Willow stopped carrying some of the matches, particularly Pakistan matches. I dont have DISH or DIRECTV. So I am left with no option but to search for other sites.
All our lives we have watched cricket for free, in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh etc. And now we not only have pay to see these games, but we also have to figure out who is legit and who is not. And though Willow TV has been around for a while, please do NOT assume that everyone in North America was born with the knowledge that Willow TV has copyright to Cricket matches. Now the process is even more confusing. ESPN3 often shows live cricket. That is where I watched all the Bangladesh/Pakistan matches. And now there is NEO Cricket, and Cricket Pack on Cable/Dish. So as you can see, an avg fan simply scratches his head. It’s not like watching a UFC fight which only comes legally on PPV or UFC.com. There are too many options for cricket.
A small request. Please be more considerate and provide users more economical options. Not everyone who bought a package from another website is a thief (which is what your email basically stated). Your prices are so astronomically expensive, its often beyond the reach of a normal immigrant. You want us to sign up for 12 months? Exactly what am I going to sign up for? Willow is not broadcasting a single game from the upcoming Pakistan-England series, and you events calendar I dont see a single Pakistan series listed for 2012.
Holly Pranger of Pranger Law Group of San Francisco Bay Area is Willow TV’s attorney.
[…] has reportedly been sending legal notices to fans of Cricket streaming sites, according to deepbackwardpoint.com and this forum post (via GigaOm). According to the posts, in an email being sent out, Willow.tv […]
Agree to the comments mentioned here. As many have noted, People want to sort this out but who do we talk to ? Hope the Willow CEO is serious about resolving the issue and reading the comments here. Cricket fans are not thieves ! They just want to enjoy the game and unfortunately as one of the Pak fans commented, Willow does not stream all the games. Fans paid money to other sites in the hope to see the game. That should not be the crime ! I actually wanted to signup Willow and was contemplating that for the past 15 days but this email that I received is actually stopping me from doing that. It is as good as ‘wilful’ acknowledgement that you did something wrong where in fact you haven’t. If Willow TV wants money they should go after the ones streaming the game and not the ones watching it. Funny as it is I am still getting emails from this so called ‘illegal’ streaming sites. Let me tell you I am no longer a subscriber to that site.
As far as the service goes Willow TV is notorious for it’s worst customer service.
1. http://eye-on-cricket.blogspot.com/2011/05/willow-tvs-epic-fail-in-gory-detail.html
2. BBB gives F rating to Willow TV
3. http://www.complaintnow.com/Willow-TV/complaint/complaints/thread/print/154987/162383
What is it that Willow TV wants ? Money or the viewers ? Both together will not happen via this approach.
Hopefully, people at willow.tv are reading this……
Like many, i did not know at all that willow.tv is the official broadcaster of cricket matches in North America until I read their (threatening) email. I always thought you can only watch cricket matches in north america if you have dish or directv (which unfortunately i couldn’t afford), so like many others i went ahead and purchased the package from an alleged pirate thinking that they were legit. If I or others really wanted to cheat then we would have opted for free streaming websites but instead we paid for the WC2011 matches which clearly shows our intent of not doing anything wrong intentionally.
Reading from the comments above, it seems like unintentionally we have wronged willow.tv and therefore majority of us are willing to correct this mistake. Willow.tv has every right to go after and nuke the pirated websites who stole their service and fooled/cheated us. But the end users like me are just caught in between this mess and wrongfully targeted by willow.tv. People at willow.tv need to also understand that most of the streams we watched didn’t display any willow.tv logos or disclaimer so end user had no way of knowing that it was stolen from wilow.tv. (In fact streams I watched were from the broadcasters of asian countries like pakistan, india etc..) So here’s my suggestion, next time please put your logo on your streams and intermittent display that reads something like “this is the copyrighted stream of willow.tv and if you are watching it on any platform other that willow.tv authorized, turn it off immediately” I am not a lawyer and can still come up with that sentence so i am sure your legal department which is so good at writing threatening emails can come up with something like that. But again, how are you going to put your logo if pirates are streaming from asian countries broadcasters. So here’s another suggestion for you, advertise that you are the ONLY AUTHORIZED broadcaster of cricket matches in north america (and others are fake and pirated) in every major print and electronic media. Put up billboards saying that on highways. Advertise on tv. Do your best to put the word out. Now after doing all that if a user still buys service from pirated site then you have right to go after that user. But not until you make users aware to the best of your capability. I am sure, there are still many users out there who doesn’t know anything about willow.tv, forget about willow being the only official broadcaster in north america. So for time being it would be best if you take strict actions against the pirates only and show some leniency towards the end users.
Majority of us do want to correct this mistake so let’s talk about that…
First of all, did willow.tv notice why most of the users watched only WC matches and not other matches when international cricket is being played throughout the year. That’s is because WC was a high profile event featuring top best cricketing teams in the world. As far as other bilateral and trilateral series are concerned, no one has time to watch that in this country.
Even during the WC, most users only watched their favorite teams’ matches since it’s practically impossible to watch all of them given the time difference and work schedules. So your offer of settlement “sign up for $15/month for one year” is basically impractical since no one has that much time to watch cricket (unless of course you work for willow.tv and streaming cricket is your job or you are the CEO of willow.tv). Also, what’s the use of such subscription to a pakistan cricket fan if you are not showing pakistan matches as other people have mentioned? Your other settlement offer to show dish or direct tv bill is impractical too because many of us are cable tv subscribers. Your last option of settlement $200/match or $1000 for the whole package is outrageous. Is this what you guys charged for the actual world cup package??? If you did so, then no wonder why people resorted to the pirates. I, back then did not know about willow.tv but even if I had known, I wasn’t going to sign up for that much of amount (my good ole espncricinfo would have been sufficient for free over your $1000 buffering problems).
Now, keep in mind that folks who knew about your service and still got fooled/cheated by pirates was because of the price difference. So if someone was willing to pay $100+ for WC package, they would have happily signed up with you instead of pirates. So it is safe to assume that if there weren’t any pirated sites around, those users were still very unlikely to sign up $100+ package with willow.tv. And many users who didn’t know about your service at all are simply out of this question. So where exactly did willow.tv lose its business in this whole thing??
A) Many users didn’t know about your service at all. B) Many users simply didn’t want to pay 100+ bucks. C) And the streams were mostly from asian broadcasters. So the question is where exactly did you lose money in this??
As I said earlier, we want to settle this and not argue over this so here’s an ideal settlement. We end users pay willow.tv what we paid pirated websites. If that’s what you lost because of pirated websites then that’s what you get paid. We pay you exactly same amount to settle this as we paid to pirates for the WC package. The event has been long over, there would be no burden on your servers from us, and the money you get will be all yours to keep. Win-win for both parties.
Of course I knew you are not gonna agree to my settlement proposal so I have another settlement proposal for you……
We pay exactly same price you charged for WC2011 package and that I believe was $130. No need to sign up any monthly contract. No commitment to keep service for one year. If you seriously believe that we end users chose pirated websites over you for WC then let us buy that package and get over with it. If you seriously believe that you had lost your business to pirates for WC event then that’s exactly what you get back in settlement and nothing more. So open up a special section on your website where we pay for the WC package and along with the confirmation page it also prints full release of liability. No monthly charges, no yearly commitment, no need to wait for one year for the release letter. THAT I BELIEIVE IS A FAIR SETTLEMENT FOR BOTH PARTIES.
I second this. If Willow TV doesn’t read these comments or refuses to act on them, I’m afraid you’re asking for trouble.
Nobody here wants you to be cheated out of your money, so don’t cheat us out of ours!
asking for trouble…how? please elaborate…you mean willow tv is asking for trouble or the author of that post?
I meant Willow is. I am in total agreement with the author.
Iqbal whatever you said is correct and fair. None of it will be news for Willow i guess – they’d be smart enough to know this 🙂
That raises the question: What are they really after? My guess would be that a company that is going down the drain is keen on expanding its ongoing customer base. Hence the emphasis on one year subscription The trouble is that the purchase links on their website do not work. At least not for me but I am outside North America. Can anyone confirm if these links work for them?
Alternatively, they want to get out of business of streaming cricket and get in to business of harassing/suing people for money. Does not make much sense to me because the legal case will be very shaky because of all the things said here. But then again desperate people do desperate things, so you never know.
I,m in Australia and it does’nt work for me. Also I dont think we should fall for this blackmail,.
The whole argument by Willow TV has no merit at all. Its like Apple suing all the Samsung mobile users because they have some patents which Samsung is using and vice-versa.
First of all people who are targeted are innocent and had no malice against willow tv. If they knew they were buying illegal streams copied from willow tv they would not have done that.
Willow tv has every right to sue the pirate sites which created all this mess.
If they continue to threaten us I will definitely go after them with class action of mental harassment and blackmailing, I am sure there are hundreds of innocent cricket fans who are getting wrongfully targeted and will join.
We can sue them for life long free cricket!!!
+1, if they continue to threaten via emails.
They are not going to be around for long, so don’t hope that would happen.
The site just by its looks ,seems to be the most junk site available on internet.
Willow TV Customer Service (650) 394-5562. I won’t give them any of my personal info. I doubt anyone is there?
Wonder how much they actually know. May be your name and email address?
Iqbal Khan wrote a pretty long post…but he is bang on. I agree with everything he said. It’s long but worth reading. Hopefully willow tv will read that too and act on the suggestions given by him and others!!!!
I agree with Iqbal Khan except for the offer to pay Willow retroactively for the WC package. There was no way for me to know that what I was purchasing was illegal. Why should I pay Willow for the lack of their due diligence.
yeah but who’s listening ? Willow TV put everyone to notice and has disappeared or so it looks like. Only way out perhaps is to counter the email notice with a legal notice for them to start listening. Iqbal Khan has at least proposed a decent way out for all the parties.
For those who are already in communication with Willow should send them an e-mail with an ultimatum:
“If within the next 24 hours you do not provide me with the details of exactly what you are accusing me of – Names – Dates – Packages – $amounts then it will be taken as an admission of guilt on your part of extortion and blackmail and I will be free to take the matter up with the appropriate authorities.”
I have heard a lot of complains about unresponsive support department at Willow. This should wake them up. The best that I can tell is that they have acquired the e-mail address from some document somewhere and hoping to bully the easily scared people into buying their crappy overvalued service.
What a bunch of jerks.
Willow TV had bad picture quality, at first most test and ODI matches had a BT Tower UK message. Picture switches to a DirecTV sign or goes dark.
Buffoons at the Support center thinking they can make quick cash from their losses. Wake up, India won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011. BCCI really threatened Willow TV? Every Cricket fan here in America should make sure that Vijay Srinivasan loses CEO status.
@RM, you are right, Iqbal Khan has atleast proposed a decent way out for all parties.
I agree with Iqbal Khan. If we have wronged you for one particular package then why not just pay for it and get over with it…what’s the need to drag this matter for whole year by signing up your crappy service. And what’s the guarantee that you will keep your word at the end of the year and will give a release letter. Going by the customer complaints about your service, I along with many others seriously doubt your word, service, and intent.
If you as a company don’t know how to advertise your product and cause customer awareness and also protect your product from pirates, then that’s your fault and not the end users fault. I use samsung galaxy but that doesn’t mean I have wronged Apple. Did samsung wrong apple by stealing their technology?? may be, but no way I am responsible for that since I paid for my samsung galaxy phone.
Since you already have lists of email addresses of end users from the pirated websites, you do the math and hold pirates responsible for their piracy and get all your money from them. Even a kid can tell you that but instead you chose to pay your legal department to send us threatening/blackmailing email.
[…] the three days since the Willow TV story broke open, this blog has been the center of activity. What started as a two line blog post, has […]
[…] FAQ will be updated as new details emerge. Here is the original article on this story, with many comments from those affected. Please suggest additional questions (for me […]
Willow isn’t really helping at all. No one had intention to cheat or steal from anyone, as many have mentioned, and this is again clear from the fact that we all were searching for proper legal links to buy and enjoy cricket. It is unfortunate for Willow to suffer damage because of these service providers. Most viewers recognize this and are willing to talk to Willow. However, Willow’s idea of just sending out emails and then not being available to answer many viewers questions is not helping anyone at all. It’s causing a lot of stress and anxiety to a lot of people.
What was Willow doing to stop the so called illegal streams if they were suffering damage? CEO mentions that their legal team studied this issue deeply before sending the emails. Did they? Then please tell us how the law quoted applies in Canada? Did they even think about Canada? What is also very confusing is that why in the email it is first mentioned that Willow has no interest in going after the viewers, but then there’s a threat of facing legal action if nothing is done by the receiver of the email.
In the end we can all complain about Willow hoping that they’ll listen (and from all previous complaints we can be sure that they don’t). If Willow really cared about how a common fan would feel, they never would have sent that email or at least would have framed it more positively. So it’s better to not focus on the confusing bits in the email, or whether it’s an empty threat or even if Willow can even legally do anything. As far as I can tell no one, not even Willow or their legal team knows what they can or can not do in terms of legal action. Recipients of the email need to think of our options. No one really wants to do what Willow is asking us to do (sign up for one year or pay $200 per match) because there is no trust on Willow’s word and it could be taken as admission of guilt.
May be we can all form groups based on our location and get legal advice as a group. May be we can get Willow to negotiate some other offer (this seems unlikely though). I am already seeking a lawyer for consultation and my first question would be how this affects Canadians.
Thank you all for sharing your comments here and special thanks to Devanshu.
And thank you for the great comment.
I am a student in Canada who can’t even afford a consultation. And Willow TV would have me pay tens of thousands of dollars to compensate them for their own incompetence and not doing anything wrong wilfully or knowingly.
I don’t know how the CEO sleeps at night.
If you research the lawsuit and look up its history, it was actually filed in Feb 2011 right at or a little before the start of the world cup. Which means Willow guys were aware of these illegal streaming sites at that time. Did they take any action to inform the consumers?
I did receive Willow TV’s email, I don’t believe it…it can’t be…their now threatening me for hanging out at a alleged website? Message for you Willow TV and your shenanigans. You have lost all of your Cricket fans due to high pricing. You don’t want listen us Cricket Fans. Over the years, if there is any one here that want to research this online. Willow TV had agreements with both DirecTV CricketTicket and Dish Network. Willow TV did offer Cricket along with some football and Field Hockey. I paid Willow TV these kinds of hospital rates! Cricket packages were first inaungural CricketTicket that was for $299, Cricket World Cup 2007 for $249, another CricketTicket for $199, $149, Tri Series in Malaysia that had India, Australia and west Indies for $149, another CricketTicket for $99 and another Tri Series out in Australia for $59. I paid to see Brian Lara last game, I paid to see stars like Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Flintoff, Murali Muralidaran and Sachin Tendulkar, I paid to see England regain the 2005 Ashes, I paid to see Shane Warne gets his 700 test wicket, I paid to see Shahid Afridi in 2005 hitting 9 sixes in Chennai vs India.
CEO Vijay having quite a field day. I tell Mr. Deep Pockets, we are not interested in your settlement. WE DO NOT WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH WILLOW TV NO MORE!
I am not looking for a lawyer to fight the case. I am looking for a short consultation to get the answers that Willow should be providing in the first place. Biggest one being how the law applies in Canada. I think any lawyer should be able to answer that so I am asking around with family and friends.
Did anyone notice the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the email? This email will go to Spam in most cases. Hard to believe that this was well thought out as CEO mentions on Twitter. If it was well thought out, it would not have created so much chaos.
I didn’t receive the e-mail myself, but I have to say this is unprecedented. Although the tactic is somewhat similar to what the RIAA used, the big difference here is that there’s no legal precedent (yet) that makes merely watching streamed content a violation of copyright.
Also, while Willow is within its rights to pursue remedies, the threat of legal action seems like a strategic gamble. They send out the notice, a certain percentage of recipients bite and pony up the cash (which, at $15/mo, is very reasonable), and Willow’s rights are vindicated, both legally and financially.
But the way they’ve gone about is bush league, IMO, and creates a real PR problem for Willow from here on out. Mr. Srinivasan’s comments on Twitter strike me as particularly tone deaf in this regard.
First, Willow sent out a notice from a marketing/e-mail distribution service. Second, they didn’t point to specific instances of “illegal” conduct and used language that was too generic to be taken seriously or properly understood by the average recipient. Third, they didn’t provide any contact information that could be used by recipients to verify either the veracity of the e-mail or the nature of the claim against them. Finally, there is nothing in the e-mail to suggest that agreeing to the settlement by subscribing to Willow for one year does not amount to an admission of guilt (despite what Mr. Srinivasan said in interviews, etc).
Also, I’m concerned that the release from liability is not going to be provided until the end of the year-long subscription. Is there any guarantee that Willow won’t require an additional subscription at that point? I don’t think any of Willow’s assertions in the legal notice bind Willow to any particular sort of conduct or promise.
If Mr. Srinivasan (or anyone associated with these notices) is reading, some written and legally binding clarification would be much appreciated.
I am going to organize a campaign to sue their sorry asses into oblivion – anyone care to join?
I have written to Willow TV and awaiting their response. Given their reputation I don’t expect a reply. As much as I want to have an agreeable resolution I am ready to join the campaign. It will pave the way for clear responsibilities for future. As someone has pointed out earlier in the thread, we should start writing to the congressman, senator making them aware of the issue and asking for their help against this sort of blackmail and torture.
OK. I also got this email. When I cleaning my emails I noticed it. I adding my comments. I am also one of those innnocent not knowing that willow tv only had the copyright or whatever. I am just a poor cricket fan and want to settle this as well. I am ok to pay the 14.99 $ per month. But I want a clearly written email from Mr.Srinivasan [ BTW, Until this issue, I am not aware of this willow tv Mr.Srinivasan ] that he will not hold any innocent fans into legal bindings or some sort like that. Mr.Srinivasan, Please reply to all those you sent email again. Also make your website more clear on the About us page as your website does not have any contact information at all. How shall we trust ? If you want us to pay, then please come out open clearly and provide more details. Lot of us raised concerns here and not responding to these does not really help you or the fans with these concerns. Otherwise, you are really torturing everyone mentally.
Last but not least, Mr.Debanshu, would you please follow up with Mr.Srinivas about these real concerns that cricket fans have and caught into this unknowingly.
Thanks
‘The fish rots from the head’ … The e-mail and subsequent twitter postings of the Willow CEO makes me believe in this axiom more and more.
Mr. Srinivasan – this is what happens when you allow a bunch of ambulance-chasing lawyers to design your marketing campaign. They end up killing the ‘goose that lays the golden egg’. Let me explain how:
A lot of the people who bought the packages from other vendors, did it either because they did not know about Willow OR did not know if Willow was the ONLY legal provider OR could not afford your prices. The first two categories must be accorded the presumption of innocence and handled appropriated (see my suggestion in the next paragraph). The last category mainly consists of students or recent immigrants who may not be able to afford the prices right now, but in future will be able to do so. Do you think the people in either of these categories will ever willingly want to buy your product now?
The proper way to compose that e-mail would have been: “We have noticed through legally obtained records that you may have purchased cricket stream in North America from a site other than Willow. Please understand that it is a violation of the law to do so.
We are willing to assume that you did not know about the fact that Willow is the ONLY legal provider of cricket streams in North America.
In order to not be under any legal liability in future please only purchase your cricket packages from us.
We have put together a really good product at an affordable price. Visit us at …”
This would have put your case in a positive light and made people actually like you as a company. It would have also put repeat offenders on notice about possible legal action. The perfect combination of the carrot and stick. But now you have pissed everyone off and made them harden their stances. Didn’t you learn anything about marketing at Duke University?
Now, we come to the ‘Doctrine of clean hands’ (look it up Mr. CEO, it is pertinent to the next paragraph)
I have traveled to many countries on long business trips. Let me tell you that all legitimate websites have safeguards in place so that their content is not available to ISPs outside US. For example, I could not access Hulu or Netflix on my trips to Europe.
However, I WAS able to access Willow on my laptop in Germany (I can prove it). Is Willow allowed to stream in Germany? I don’t think so.
I also streamed Willow content in France, Italy and Northern Ireland.
If you come after any of the people whom you have threatened as ‘defendants’, then be prepared to have your own dirty laundry aired in public too.
My advice – back off this blackmail and extortion business (you are quite inept at it) and send an e-mail to everyone that you have offended with a letter of apology.
Finally a sound and an awesome reply..
Please join the google group called willowtvblacmailvictims@googlegroups.com if you wish to group against this extortion campaign from Willow TV and it’s executives. Let’s discuss our options, seek legal advice and see if we can teach these sorry people a lesson on how to be decent corporate citizens of this wonderful country.
I am already in touch with the Senator’s office, congressmens’ office as well as the Attorney general of my state. I’d advice everyone to do so to keep them in the loop. I also recommend contacting law professors in the law schools in your local area to seek advice and keeping them in the loop as well.
Twitter account: @WlwTVBlkmlvics
Hi, is your google group active ?
how do you join this group?? I can’t find it in google groups!
Yes, it is active and you can join by sending an email to WillowTVblacmailvictims@googlegroups.com.
i tried twice to send an email to WillowTVblacmailvictims@googlegroups.com but both the times it fails. This is what I get in the bounced email:
Hello xyz@xyz.com
We’re writing to let you know that the group you tried to contact (willowtvblacmailvictims) may not exist, or you may not have permission to post messages to the group. A few more details on why you weren’t able to post:
* You might have spelled or formatted the group name incorrectly.
* The owner of the group may have removed this group.
* You may need to join the group before receiving permission to post.
* This group may not be open to posting.
If you have questions related to this or any other Google Group, visit the Help Center at http://groups.google.com/support/?hl=en_US.
Thanks,
Google Groups
me too getting the same message..
Pattrick – can you please recheck the permissions…
Sorry you guys are having issues, can you please go to this url and apply for membership:
http://groups.google.com/group/willowtvblacmailvictims
Well,I am one of those innocent fans caught in this trap and also received this threatening mail.
I have never visited US and had never heard about this “WILLOW TV” unless this mail arrived.
I was in Europe during the WC 2011 and purchased a package from one of the many websites which were streaming the WC matches in EUROPE.
Was Willow TV allowed to stream in Europe?
Since I never viewed these matches in US, Can I sbe still threatend of such action?
Looks like this is fizzling out and not sure what the next or right thing to do for the fans who got affected ?
Debanshu, Would you please connect with Willow CEO and see if he has read these true concerns and have him reply via emails to all that he will not keep hold them as admission of guilt if they sign up for that 14.99 $. I want to get this done and move on.
Debanshu, Please see if you can do this !!!
Thanks
Please join the google group as mentioned by Patrick above. Not sure of the next Willow TV move but we ought to be prepared. They did what they had to do.
Hello Debanshu, so do I just want to get rid of this. Could you please contact Willow CEO and try to find what’s happening. We are really innocent and never knew which sites were legal. I am good with what Iqbal Khan had commented. I would really appreciate if you can contact him and get this closed.
Many people have been asking me to act as an intermediary between them and Willow, or help in other ways. So far, I’ve been reporting on this as a news story, providing a single resource for all currently known information and a forum for affected parties to communicate. I have also gotten in touch with the Willow TV CEO over Twitter, and asked him or his lawyer to look at feedback in the comments. Beyond this, there is little I can do, especially since this is a legal matter in which I am neither a lawyer, nor an affected party.
Here is what I would suggest– please form a group among yourselves (like the Google Group mentioned above) to organize and plan. This will give you a private forum to discuss matters, make sure you have agreement and then counter the Willow email with a concrete plan and the strength of numbers. Again, I am not a lawyer, but this is what I would do if faced with such a situation.
Many are right, they did what they had to do and we have to do what’s needed to protect ourselves. Let’s get organized first, recruit some victims to our group and start voicing our concerns to the concerned authorities. You have no idea what grass root campaigns can do in this country. Let’s join hands and take this head on!!!
Willow has released their own FAQ on the subject which addresses many of the questions/concerns that people in the comments here had:
http://www.willow.tv/EventMgmt/LegalFAQ.asp
this is total sham.. no one is gonna buy their argument.. i wont care.. let hell come.. i’m still good..
Can I do a onetime settlement instead of monthly subscription for 12 months and receive a release immediately?
Yes, you may make a onetime payment of $169 (a $10 discount from the 12 month subscription) and you will receive a subscription to the Willow online channel for a year AND an immediate letter of release.
==================
But some of us have received an offer of $7.50/mo for 6 months and then $14.99 so that turns out to be $135, cheaper than $169
How about them? Can they clarify this. I am actually looking to buy willow sub anyways to watch so this is a good deal
Did anyone get a reply for this? What about those who were asked to pay $7.49 for the first 6 months. Is willow tv refunding $35 dollars back after you sign up
did you sign up and get $34 back?. I sent an email to willow tv but didn’t get a response yet.
That’s a little helpful, but they still haven’t answered the question about the laws in Canada.
Finally, Willow seems responding to the comments made here. Many over here backed Iqbal’s suggestion which is exactly what Willow TV has accepted on one time payment ( albeit a bit higher ! ).
scrp – Seems as per your comments you willing to fight it out till the end. Please join Patrick’s gmail group and discuss the future options. The settlement doesn’t explain why certain games are excluded from Willow TV and what are viewers suppose to do.. Besides espn360 folks show it free ( via authorized ISPs ).
Debanshu – Thanks very much for giving all of us the much needed platform here.
Does any one have the link for one time payment? I am able to see a link for one month or six month subscription alone.
i have the same question…where can we get it done! prob they will update their site soon since they just put those FAQ’s up today!
also, WillowTV are asking for $40 more than what I suggested, but knowing the types of crooks they are, I am not surprised at all!!!!
Has anyone paid this yet ? Did you get email response as they stated releasing from the legal action ?
They have a link to it on the FAQ page.
http://www.willow.tv/EventMgmt/LegalFAQ.asp
Did you already pay ? What is their response ?
anyone noticed the Subscribe now link in the FAQ now… It takes you to regular user registration screen. Any one signed up and got the release letter ?
This is perhaps a rumor and should be taken with a grain of salt. My sources tell me that Willow TV is in talks with a major sports network to be bought out. Most of the Willow TV’s senior executive team is expected to stay after the merger except a few. The major point of negotiation is the number of subscribers as well as revenue loss during the ICC World Cup due to the pirate sites. This price pressure made Willow TV’s management team desperate enough to seek outrageous means to deal with this issue. More details to follow if this rumor ever gets confirmed, or perhaps people from Willow TV can confirm or deny this if they are reading this…
I purchased the package last week. I sent 5 emails aready. No response. The youtube channel also does not work with the willow tv as it asks for additional 6 months purchase and complains that I have not purchased the 2001 season pass on youtube. It says Please visit willow TV Youtube channel to purchase the 6 month seasonal pass and all.
I trusted them and no reply from their support and their legal as well.
Debanshu et Al, I am not sure where to go from here….
Hi
I purchased the package already. But no reply from Willow TV. Also sent an email on support as I cannot access the willow tv from youtube. No reply from support either.
Not sure what really is going on….
Will wait for one more day… and see what shall I do…
They are not sending the release letter as they promised on their website. FAQ says immediately. But It has been a week and no letter yet.
Lets see what they respond. Mr.Debanshu, you are our destiny again. Please see if you can contact the CEO and see if he reponds to the subscription why they are not sending the release letter immediately as they said.
Thanks
What do you expect from a company that sends this kind of communication? I don’t believe they care about anything other than their bottom line.
Looks like you can’t sign up for the one time payment option in Canada. It gives a message that the subscription is not available in my geographical location. Awesome! I actually wanted to watch some cricket.
I sure hope Willow is still reading these messages.
Willow TV, you’re making it very difficult for everyone to help you!
Hi Guys,
No response from them at all. Followed up few times. Not sure what else I could do otherthan wait and watch.
One thing that I can tell is that they do not care to respond…..
i hope you made sure to either save or printed out the confirmation page of your payment. Also, print out willow tv’s faq page where they say that they will send release letter immediately. If they ever come after you you can show them both printouts and save yourself.
Just like you, I was considering on paying this $169 but now I seriously don’t know how serious willow tv are regarding this (one time pay and get release letter offer).
Willow TV are just making matters worse (more for them than accused pirates) by not backing up their words. I am sure there are many people out there like me who are waiting for one positive confirmation that willow are backing up their words…clock is ticking…they better act fast!!!
I don’t believe even for an instant that WillowTV is interested in pursuing this matter to charge the viewers any more than sending this email and see if they take the bait. This kind of radio silence from them strengthens this belief. I expect this to just fizzle out and nothing happens except a few (hundred/thousand) people sign up for the package(s) and WillowTV expands it’s subscription base and reels in more revenue.
In my opinion, one response from a fairly competent IP attorney will send them running with their tails between their legs, I am working on exactly that, let’s see what happens…
Hi can you tell me if this threat of lawsuit applicable in Australia. I cant even subscribe. Just want the end this problem.
Patrick, did you follow up on getting an IP attorney to write to them? Thanks much.
No response still from them.. I purchased the packaged as I trusted them….
This is not all FAIR…. I see this purely a black mailing against fans …. to sign up and they are not really interested in sending any release letters….
cricfan have you got the release letter? I bought the package $169 but not received any release letter. Do i need to wait for few days or we are cheated yet again?
Please respond
JJust out of curiosity, from which country did you purchase? I’m from Australia and can’t even subscribe! Although I would’nt even if I could.
If CEO is smart enough and wants to make instant money, let us collect one time settlement of $ 100 within next two weeks and get out of this mess once for all. I wanted to sign up for Willow initially where they promoted signing up for WC package would give one year service free or so but never got proper reply even after matches have started and no phone number to talk to them directly. What a poor customer service even the days where they have opportunity to make maximum money…
The broadcaster I have watched WC (only weekend matches) never displayed any logo to believe that service is pirated and claimed that they are telecasting sports on the web for last seven years or so, which made me more believable than other sites and no options left with for not hearing from Willow. Ofcourse forgot about the buffering issues and list of compliants they have received from me. Let us not talk about the past.
Why is it only $10 less, how did they come up with this great discount. As many of us knew, we would have watched not more than 5-6 games on an average during the WC due to timing of the matches etc.,, Assuming $15 per match (I don’t remember exactly, the price Willow would have charged). $100 is more genuine price. Hope, to see this settlement sale starts soon. In future, try to keep the prices reasonable to avoid this piracy. Use this money to hire few employees to provide customer service (24X7) and provide toll free number and invest in technology to block the content being pirated. ” In a business, it’s not the big eat the small rather the fast that eat the slow”. You have lost customers because of poor customer service. Googling it will know the list of unsatisfied customers…ever since service started. Hope, Willow read this mail. Once again, we want to help you out and be on your side in fighting the piracy but choose your partners carefully if you want to continue in this business in future. Thanks Devanshu for your great effots to keep the dialogue on between the parties. I personally think they should at least offer you a free life membership to willow TV for your efforts on this issue,
We need to keep after them for the release letters. This is not something they do on regular basis so I doubt they have even thought about what to write in the letter.
The link to pay one-time now works in Canada. I purchased it mainly because I wanted to watch cricket. I don’t expect quick responses from them though. Company’s culture is apparent from the way they’ve handled this whole thing. However, we need to keep at it.
This is what I got ….
Thank you for subscribing Blockbuster Package 2012 costing $169. Release letters are in the process of being prepared and the same should be reaching you within few days.
cricfan have you got the release letter? I bought the package $169 but not received any release letter. Do i need to wait for few days or we are cheated yet again?
Just wanted to know from which country did you subscribe from? Can’t seem to subscribe from Australia although I wont even if I could. This is a scare scam.
cricfan/gully and all, I contacted willow support that i bought $169 package then they sent me the release letter. Seems they will send you once you ask. This could be seen as they may not have enough documentary evidence for all but you would never know.
This matter ends for me…just wanted to update everyone because this blog was the only source of update. Thanks to Devanshu for all his efforts. Raihan since you dont care none of the information should be important for you…
cheers!
cricluv, dude. I’m trying to build up a case against Willow that’s why I was interested to know from which countries it can and can’t be subscribed.
Anyone get the release letter? I got one without asking, but haven’t read it yet (too long).
got one without asking???how?
did you pay like “cricfan” or what different method did you use that you got the release letter and “cricfan” did not? I am asking so i can follow your steps and get one and get over with this whole headache!
thanks in advance for your anticipated reply.
I bought the package, but did not send a request for the letter. I just received it after few days. I think everyone has received the letter. Willow has a link to it on their FAQ page. I think everyone who bought the package has received it by email. May be that’s the reason there hasn’t been a lot of traffic here recently?? This matter seems to have come to an end (hopefully).
Willow’s initial approach caused a lot of stress to a lot of people. They could have prepared the FAQ and sample letter before sending the legal notices. Not very well thought out by them and it caused unnecessary stress, which has put a negative image of this company.
Which country did you subscribe from? I’m from Australia and can’t seem to subscribe. Also can anyone tell me if this threat of lawsuit applicable in Australia?
I am in Canada. I was getting the same error as you did. I posted here about it and it was mysteriously fixed the next day.
Question, anyone a dish subscriber who has willow and sent their bill? has anyone from that group get the release letter
Hi, I’m from Australia. Is this threatneing letter applicable to Australian viewers. I signec up thru a site and paid 40$· There is no way i could have known that was a pirated site. Could anyone help me with this. Also i cant even subscribe because i get this error meesage about geographical locations. Can someone advice what i should do?
Ditto here … I am from New Zealand 🙂 Any similar experience?
I’ve marked WiilowTv’s email as spam. Going to ignore them. We must not give in to blackmailers. Is there any internet police/authority where we can report these blackmailers?
It was a relief to find this site. I was getting nervous. Very well made points: how, on earth, can an average subscriber check the authenticity of the feed they are receiving? Especially when one is signing up through a site with a support system and paying via credit card. I did start the monthly subscription but am now getting an error message renewing it. Some others seem to have encountered this problem as well. Does anyone know
what the current state of affairs on this front happens to be?
Thanks,
Mouli Banerjee.
What the heck is Willow TV going to do about their stream constantly cutting out on the Roku Player? I am paying for Willow TV and instead I have,…W………I……..LL………O..W………..(commercial, commercial, blank screen, commercial,)………..TV………………… This is not good for the future of Willow TV or the sport of Cricket!!!!