Our take...
The ruling is a substantial victory for Cablevision and follows a good second quarter's business for the company. While it by no means provides closure to the case, as the issue is almost certain to be taken to a higher court, a further ruling in Cablevision's favour would bring with it a number of benefits to the cable operator.

• Network PVRs typically work out cheaper on a per-subscriber basis, resulting in reduced subscriber acquisition costs for operators using them. PVRs are generally more than $100 more expensive per box for the operator than standard non-PVR options. Although nPVRs do require server storage and play-out, normally, cost-savings are still assured.
• Furthermore, the lack of an internal hard disk on non-PVR boxes makes them less prone to failure than internal hard-disk PVRs, again, reducing expenditure at the operator end, and increasing satisfaction on the consumer side.
• Storage capacity is not limited by the set-top box specifications, allowing the operator to match rivals' offers without the need for costly replacements.
• Additionally, new revenue options are opened up for the operator, including the ability to up-sell additional storage to customers taking the network PVR.

While Cablevision is looking to benefit from the ruling, the issue could well have far-reaching impacts in the US TV market. With Cablevision's network PVR approved for the time-being, other operators considering the technology but historically having not put the investment in for fear of the technology being found in contravention of copyright law, may well now look to provide their own service.

This outcome is unlikely to be favourably received by the set-top box manufacturers (including Scientific Atlanta, which is a major supplier of Cablevision DVRs), which enjoy better margins on the advanced boxes.

The ruling is also likely to worry the studios and major content owners in the US. Two-thirds of US TV households receive their TV service via cable or IPTV - the capability for these homes to record and store a potentially unlimited amount of content remotely is likely to be a concern to content owners. The impact of PVRs and their ad-skipping functions on the US advertising market is already beginning to be felt, despite the fact that PVRs are found in fewer than one third of households. Increasing both PVR capabilities and PVR penetration would be yet another blow to an industry already suffering from the recent national financial downturn.