Robyn R. Polashuk

Polashuk is the managing partner of Covington & Burling LLP’s Los Angeles office and co-chair of its communications and media industry group — a fast-moving practice that features constant innovation as digital distribution arrangements evolve.

She’s an authority on industry structures such as “over-the-top” distribution, in which streaming media reaches viewers via the internet, bypassing traditional telecommunications channels; TV Everywhere or authenticated streaming for subscribers; and direct-to-consumer video services.

Her clients include AMC Networks Inc., CBS Corp., Fox Networks Group, the National Football League, PBS, The Walt Disney Co., TV One and Viacom Inc.

Polashuk represented cable giant Viacom in its $340 million purchase of online streaming platform Pluto TV, an ad-supported startup founded in 2013. The deal closed in January 2019.

“This was a great opportunity for both sides,” she said, noting that it provides Viacom with an established platform for online direct-to-consumer distribution of programming with a focus on ad-supported content.

Her team performed an extensive diligence review of Pluto’s license and distribution agreements.

“There’s a great deal of work when a larger, more traditional media company buys a startup, and this deal was months in the making,” she said.

Polashuk continues to advise The Walt Disney Co. in its 2018 landmark acquisition of 21st Century Fox and related transactions in a deal reportedly worth $71.3 billion. The pact closed in March 2019. It included the Fox film and TV studios and several domestic and international television network, such as FX, the National Geographic Channel and the Fox regional sports networks.

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

She advised Star India in its launch of a U.S. video on demand subscription service. U.S. Hotstar is India’s premier streaming platform with 60,000-plus hours of video content and live sporting events. “Hotstar is the Netflix of India,” she said. “It will really be an expansion of the sports scene if cricket catches on in this country.”

So what does Polashuk watch herself?

“My team and I subscribe to so many platforms and products there seems to be no end to it,” she said. “I watch just to see how they work, to know what the industry is up to and to understand their functionality.”

Also, there’s the entertainment value itself.

“Pluto’s FailArmy channel is pretty funny,” Polashuk said. And I’m a huge fan of Big Bang Theory.”

She’s already lamenting that the Emmy-winning CBS sitcom is in its twelfth and final season.

“I’ve watched all 12 years. The characters seem so real to me,” she said.

— John Roemer