 This decision set a precedent that broadcast television material can be protected by copyright and cannot be re-transmitted on the Internet without permission.ivi, Inc. is a Seattle-based company that began retransmitting broadcast television content via the Internet to paid subscribers on September 13, 2010.Designed to be an improvement over more expensive traditional cable services, viewers could watch local broadcast TV from New York City and Seattle, and later Chicago and Los Angeles, from anywhere in the world for a monthly subscription of $4.99 without any special equipment.