Zillow customers who had a Matterport 3D home tour on a listing woke up today to find the virtual tour option removed, with Zillow claiming that the CoStar-owned company changed its terms of service to restrict usage of Matterport-created content on “any third-party platform.” CoStar also chose not to renew its API agreement with Zillow, according to a company spokesperson.
“Due to CoStar’s decision to restrict its content, Zillow removed Matterport 3D virtual tours from listings on our sites. CoStar’s ongoing efforts to wall off data and restrict how real estate professionals use the content they pay for is harmful to everyone in the industry,” a Zillow spokesperson told RISMedia.
CRMLS, the second-largest MLS in the country, seemingly followed suit, asking members to remove photos, videos and tours created by CoStar—the same day it sued CoStar over a dispute related to an alleged breach of contract with its licensing vendor REcore Solutions LLC (though that dispute appears to have been resolved).
According to screenshots posted on social media, CRMLS initially told members to remove any media that “originated” on CoStar’s platforms, based on CoStar’s “request.” The MLS threatened a $1,500 fine for agents and brokers that did not remove this media—even from expired or closed listings.
The next day, CRMLS sent another message to members, writing in a short note that CoStar media can still be uploaded to the platform and does not need to be taken down. A spokesperson for CRMLS characterized the update as a “clarification,” with the message saying that CoStar “confirmed” the terms of use did not require removal of media from the platform.
In an emailed statement, a CoStar Group spokesperson claimed that Zillow was “intentionally misrepresenting” the terms, saying that “media licensing terms” had not been changed—though Zillow pointed to CoStar’s “Media Rights Terms and Conditions” page, which at press time said they were last updated Sept. 29 of this year and prohibit the use of “photographs, imagery, videos, virtual tours, and any other media created or acquired by or on behalf of CoStar Group” on third-party platforms “that compete with CoStar Groups’ products and services.” The CoStar spokesperson said the Sept. 29 update did not change the “substance” of the terms.
“If Zillow is removing Matterport Spaces from its website, that is a decision Zillow made unilaterally to the detriment of their customers,” the spokesperson said, further accusing Zillow of “playing games” to “divert attention” from lawsuits. The spokesperson also called the API agreement “a red herring,” claiming that Zillow has not utilized the feed “for years.”
The move comes as both companies jockey for an advantage in the “portal wars” (and also in court) amid a broader trend of industry consolidation and evolution, with CoStar pitting its Homes.com brand against Zillow’s long-established dominance in the consumer real estate space. CoStar founder and CEO Andy Florance has long been critical of Zillow’s business model.
But the removal of Matterport—which claimed around 1.2 million customers early this year—represents a significant escalation of the two companies’ dispute, and threatens to further fragment the real estate landscape.
A source at Zillow familiar with the decision noted that Zillow’s own 3D tours and other content created through its platforms can be reused on other platforms outside of Zillow, and that the company believes this sort of open marketplace is in the best interest of consumers—echoing the portal’s arguments in another major dispute with Compass over private listings.
The CoStar spokesperson pushed back on Zillow’s characterization of how CoStar licensing restricts the usage of content like 3D tours, claiming that only “media created by CoStar Group explicitly for use on our platforms is proprietary.”
“Matterport customers can share their Spaces anywhere, including on Zillow,” the spokesperson said.
But the source at Zillow claimed CoStar essentially creates a scenario where real estate professionals would have to pay for content twice based on the wording of the terms and conditions, because content created explicitly for CoStar platforms would have to be created again to be used on a third-party site (CoStar customers can still use media “excluding videos and virtual tours” on their own websites and platforms, according to the terms and conditions).
According to the source at Zillow, the CoStar terms essentially meant that the company will not accept any new Matterport videos until it can agree with CoStar on the API and the terms of use. The source also claimed there were concerns that customers could inadvertently run afoul and be at risk of violating CoStar’s terms if Zillow allowed them to continue uploading Matterport videos.
The Zillow source did not know whether the API feed had been utilized in recently.
The company is currently reaching out to affected customers, with the source saying that Zillow is using different communications depending on the customer, and is recommending other services—including Zillow’s.
“Zillow empowers professionals to use a number of 3D media solutions on our platform in addition to our own rich media tool, Zillow 3D Home, which can be used both on and beyond our platforms,” the Zillow spokesperson said.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RISMedia for updates.
Editor’s note: this story was updated at 4:29 p.m. eastern time with a response from CoStar and additional information from a Zillow source.
Editor’s note: this story was updated Oct. 24 with information and statements related to CRMLS’s communications regarding CoStar media.
