There’s been a lot of talk in the last couple of months about TV packages moving to streaming. I’m sure you’ve heard about the buzz surrounding NFL Sunday Ticket, which will no longer be exclusive to DIRECTV after this season. There’s a lot to unpack about that, and it’s really a subject for another article. But it brings up a real question: here in 2023, can you stream video in your business? It’s time for some straight talk.
First of all, private viewing
If what we’re talking about is people using their own device to stream stuff just for themselves, there’s no law against that. You may not like the fact that your employees watch YouTube videos at their desks but it’s not illegal. It’s the same thing with the patrons in your restaurant or waiting room. Those folks using their own phones to watch video isn’t a problem. It doesn’t matter if they use your Wi-Fi or their own cell service. It’s better for you if you can get strong cell service in there so you don’t have to provide Wi-Fi, of course, and that’s why you need a cell booster for your business.
Now let’s talk about the elephant in the bar
A lot of businesses put streaming videos up on TVs. You see it everywhere. Go to a casual restaurant and maybe they have Disney+ playing on the screen. Doctor’s offices might run an Apple TV or Fire Stick to keep people engaged while they’re waiting. Now that more and more live sports is moving over to streaming, you might be tempted to use it to drive sales to your business too. There are three things you need to know before you do that.
Thing 1: It’s illegal. It’s always illegal.
Well, almost always. Unless you have specifically set up a business account for streaming, it’s illegal. And I don’t just mean signing up for Netflix with the name of your business. It takes more than that. The public areas in your business are governed by different copyright laws and it takes special negotiations to make sure you’re covered. Unless you know for sure that you are (for example if you have business satellite TV from DIRECTV,) you’re not covered.
Specifically, you’re not covered if you try to stream sports from Hulu, Prime Video, or YouTube. Period.
Thing 2: They’re going to find out. They always find out.
Sooner or later the companies who provide that streaming video will find out that you’re doing it. Your internet address is embedded in every request you make for streaming video. Every single one. And with your internet address, they can very easily find your physical address. That means, whenever the lawyers at that streaming company get bored, they’ll look you up and slap a lawsuit on you. It may not happen this week, but it’s going to happen. Why? Because they have contracts that force them to crack down on business streaming. If they don’t, they’re on the hook for lots of money to the people who created that content.
Thing 3: You might not have enough internet speed anyway
If you’re thinking about replacing a sports package with a streaming one, are you sure you can even do it? If you want to put 10 channels of live TV on the screen, each in 4K, you’re talking about needing 250 megabits per second minimum. Can your internet line provide that kind of speed 100% of the time? Sure it may get up that high for a quick speed test but can it hold up that bargain for three hours straight? The last thing you want is for all your screens to freeze just when there’s a big play going on.
Here’s what you do instead
My advice is to stay with something like satellite TV. Satellite TV doesn’t care how many channels you want to watch at once. It’s not built like that. Not only that, when you have a business satellite TV package, you know that you’re set up right with the content providers. The satellite company takes care of all the copyright stuff and just makes sure you pay as little as possible.
But what about those TV packages that are moving to streaming? Truth is we don’t know yet. But there’s a really good chance that the business side of it will stay with DIRECTV and only the residential side will move to streaming. That’s what happened with Amazon’s Thursday Night Football. It could happen again.
Get the story from the experts
Whether you want to stay with satellite TV, make your business more cell-phone-friendly, or even upgrade your business internet, there’s one place you can go to make the best deal. Call the experts at Signal Connect. We have over 20 years experience helping businesses like yours save money and stay on the right side of the law. Call us at 888-233-7563 and you’ll get an expert in our Michigan corporate offices. They’ll lay it all out for you, let you make your own mind up, and give you their direct phone number so you can call them back. That’s what I call a win-win-win. If it’s after hours or if you’d prefer to talk over email, just fill out the form below.
