Robyn R. Polashuk

Polashuk focuses on licensing and distribution of video programming across a variety of platforms for clients like The Walt Disney Co., CBS Corp., AMC Networks, the National Football League, Fox Networks Group, Univision Communications, PBS, Ovation, Star India and TV One.

“We always have a lot of deals in the works,” the Covington partner said. “There is always some new way to get content to consumers as the industry evolves.”

Polashuk is part of the Covington team advising Disney on its landmark acquisition of 21st Century Fox. That highly publicized deal includes the Fox film and TV studios as well as several domestic and international television networks, including FX and National Geographic Channel. Polashuk remains tight-lipped about the negotiations. “We have several attorneys working on it here and in D.C.,” she said. “I work on distribution and carriage but we are currently very limited in what we can say.” Published reports put Disney’s purchase price at $52.4 billion in stock.

She represented CBS in negotiating agreements with Verizon, PlayStation Vue and DISH Networks for carriage of the CBS and CW owned-and-operated broadcast stations as well as CBS television network video-on-demand content on traditional and digital pay television platforms.

She supported AMC Networks in its launch of the AMC Premiere premium viewing experience, including in distribution agreements with Comcast and YouTube TV. AMC Premiere offers viewers an upgrade option for viewing popular shows such as AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and “Into the Badlands,” as well as ad-free versions of stacked current seasons of original series in real time.

Polashuk advised Star India, one of that nation’s largest media companies, in its launch of the c subscription video-on-demand service in the U.S. Hotstar is India’s premier streaming platform and includes an extensive offering of 60,000-plus hours of video content as well as live sporting events. “Hotstar is the Netflix of India,” she said. “It is bringing its massive video library to the U.S. plus live sports programming. It will really be an expansion of the sports scene if cricket catches on in this country.”

“I got lucky finding this kind of legal practice,” she said. “It is so interesting. Every day we see something new in the industry. I have a subscription to everything, and I play with all the products. There is a lot to experiment with on the web, like Pluto TV. When I’m fast-forwarding shows at night, I can tell myself I’m working. I should put that on my time sheets.”

— John Roemer