Aston says that Canal+ is in breach of an appeal court ruling issued over the satcaster’s plans to drop support for its Canal Ready CI+ product.
In a strongly worded statement the French receiver manufacturer claimed Canal had sent a portion of its subscriber base a letter indicating that from January 21, 2015, they could use the Canal+ Le Cube set-top box to receive the channel Canal+Sport.
Aston said the letter failed to state subscribers were still able to receive the channel using Canal Ready certified HD decoders still on the market.
Canal Ready was introduced to enable customers to use their own choice of certified receiver and a CI Plus module.
Canal is looking to drop the scheme, forcing subscribers to use one of its own integrated receivers.
Aston also says standalone card subscribers watching in HD – unaffected by the planned changes – have seen messages indicating their receiver will no longer be suitable.
Initially, Aston brought its case against the Commercial Court of Paris, arguing that Canal+ was abusing its dominant position by one-sided cancelling Canal Ready support. In first instance, the court ruled that the potential impact on Aston’s market is minimal, and dismissed the case.
By contrast, the Court of Appeal now suspended the ruling of the Commercial Court until the French Competition Authority will look into the matter.
Canal+ has to date not responded to Broadband TV News’ request for a statement.
