Starz Sues Disney Unit Over Downloads

LOS ANGELES (Reuters/CNNMoney) — Liberty Media Holding Corp.’s Starz Entertainment cable network said Thursday it is suing a unit of Walt Disney Co. for allowing other movie download services to sell titles while they were exclusively licensed to Starz.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, was brought by Starz against Disney’s Buena Vista Television, which this year signed deals to sell movies on Apple Inc’s iTunes online store and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s new movie download site.

According to the lawsuit, Disney is barred under a 2005 licensing agreement with Starz from selling some of its films, such as the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” for transmission over the Internet before and during a period of exclusivity agreed upon for Starz.

Starz has paid more than $1 billion for the exclusive rights to Disney films since 1993, according to the lawsuit. It also has the right to offer the films on its subscription Internet download service, Vongo.