Uh oh matterport?21243
 WGAN ForumFounder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Buster6070 Quote: Originally Posted by Buster6070 Well said! Dan |
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 Co-HostWGAN-TV Podcast Suisun City, California |
SparksMediaGroup private msg quote post Address this user | |
| What am I missing... “While 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 clarified. Additionally, CoStar claims that Zillow has not used the Matterport API feed “for years,” and that CoStar not renewing the API agreement does not have any impact on “Matterport’s customers’ ability to share Spaces.” “If Zillow is removing Matterport Spaces from its website, that is a decision Zillow made unilaterally to the detriment of their customers,” a CoStar spokesperson wrote in an email. “CoStar Group sued Zillow because it was infringing on CoStar Group’s copyrighted photographs, on a massive scale. Having been caught red-handed, Zillow is now playing games to stir up customer confusion and divert attention away from its many lawsuits. In addition to diverting leads and banning listings, this is yet another example of how Zillow is harming agents and consumers.” Sounds like people should be mad at Zillow and not Matterport. |
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Co-Host WGAN-TV Podcast Suisun City, California |
SparksMediaGroup private msg quote post Address this user | |
| An email just came in from Matterport: Dear Valued Customer, We are writing to correct the intentional misrepresentations that you may have heard Zillow spreading regarding Matterport Spaces. Most importantly, as a Matterport customer, you can continue to share your Matterport Spaces anywhere, including Zillow. Neither Matterport’s nor CoStar Group’s media licensing terms have changed. If Zillow is removing Matterport Spaces from its website, that is a decision Zillow made unilaterally to the detriment of their customers. We recommend reaching out to Zillow directly. While media created by CoStar Group explicitly for use on our platforms is proprietary, Matterport customers can share their Spaces anywhere. We understand that Zillow has made reference to a terminated API agreement between Matterport and Zillow. That is a complete red herring, and unrelated to Matterport’s customers’ ability to share Spaces. Zillow knows this but chose to spread a falsehood anyway. The truth is that Zillow is desperately trying to divert attention from the slew of lawsuits it is now facing, brought by a brokerage, consumers, the FTC, State Attorneys General, and CoStar Group. Zillow is now playing games to stir up customer confusion and distract from its mounting legal troubles. In addition to diverting leads and banning listings, this is yet another example of Zillow harming agents and consumers. We regret that Zillow’s actions have caused you any inconvenience, and we look forward to continuing to work with you. Sincerely, Matterport Leadership Team |
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 FounderNail Soup Media Sarasota, Florida |
GlennTremain private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Misinformation all over? zillow hasnt taken off matterort, just doesnt have premium placement? https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5225-White-Oak-Ave-APT-1-Encino-CA-91316/19939796_zpid/ this property still has matterport but just not at the top like it was. you have to scroll down to facts then click on virtual tour link so if this a goof then ok, but if its just zillow not giving premium placement then Zillow is justified to do this and someone (or 2 or 3 other writers) is misrepresenting things to get panties in in a bunch the story should have been "costar didnt renew premium placement license" This costar screwing with public opinion with pulling ts use of matterport on anything other than costar owned properties I'll check other listings |
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 WGAN Fan Club Member Gilroy, California |
Dataventurer private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hey, let's join the party here! I'm bringing hard data that I hope can help you sort things out. I just accessed the MLS in my area in south Santa Clara County in California (I have a Coldwell Banker agent's license and pay for membership to the local MLS). I did a search on Area 1, which includes Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and San Martin. There is a report in the MLS that can display the media links that listings are using. These links include various media types: 360 tours, videos links, links to single page websites. I opened on Zillow almost every listing that had a Matterport link displayed in the MLS media section, about 20 properties. There are eight media fields provided by my MLS and agents stick the Matterport link in various locations on that form that I checked. NOT ONE LISTING DISPLAYED ANY DIRECT LINKS TO A MATTERPORT TOUR. You know that the Matterport tours have been featured at the top of the Zillow listing pages next to the hero photo. I didn't see any tours displayed on those Zillow listings that have Matterport links in the MLS! I thought, "Maybe Zillow is putting the Matterport link down in the Facts and Features Interior section where they usually list up to five links to offsite media". NO MATTERPORT LINKS WERE SHOWING ON ZILLOW! Even when the Matterport links were put in the specific MLS field that Zillow had identified a couple years ago as the first place they look for a 360 tour link. I checked some of the listings on Redfin - and the Matterport tours were showing up there on all of them! My quickly-formed opinion from this research: Zillow is NOT displaying Matterport tours via direct links on their website any longer. The only way to display a Matterport tour on Zillow is to put it into a off-platform single page property site where the link to that page is accessible down the Zillow listing page as a text link in the Facts and Features Interior section. Lucky for me, I only have been providing Zillow 3D Home Tours, which continue to be featured at the top of the Zillow listing page, along with the 2D floorplan they supply for free. |
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Buster6070 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by GlennTremain First, that's not a Matterport tour, it's a home3ds tour. And once you said I have to click and scroll, that media is useless and won't be seen by a majority of buyers. Second, having a virtual tour as the second picture of a carousel or direct link at top is not premium placement, it's industry standard. See homes.com, realtor.com, or Redfin Either way any decent Realtor isn't going to be ok with the change.    |
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Founder Nail Soup Media Sarasota, Florida |
GlennTremain private msg quote post Address this user | |
| My mistake....disregard the zillow link I didn't check fully premium placement as the norm...maybe for the last 3 years so I'm outdated on this and glade that it is considered standard and agents arent charged for it. Yes totally agree about eliminating the 3d tour like they did and hopefully analytics will show them its a stupid move and costing them money |
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Buster6070 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Just learned of a new unexpected domino to fall. The California Regional MLS has just instructed all agents to remove Matterport scans from their listings or get a $1500 fine. They say this is due to the recent changes in Costar's ToS. That means all other sites are about to lose those virtual tours who rely on the MLS in that area to sync media. |
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Buster6070 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Oh wow, just thought of another unexpected repercussion. Some agents don't pay for separate photos and use the Matterport virtual tour to extract stills. Does that mean they literally just lost all media on Zillow? | ||
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WGAN Forum Founder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by @Buster6070 Hi All, Another WGAN Forum related discussion: Bombshell from Los Angeles - CRMLS Dan |
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WGAN Fan Club Member Gilroy, California |
Dataventurer private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Buster6070 Think about the ownership issue of the photos created from the Matterport tour. They belong to the photographer, right? They would be indistinguishable in origin from photos taken with a regular camera. They would be posted as photos. Zillow's beef is with the competitor to their own in-house product, the Zillow 3D Home Tours. I think the photos generated from the tours are safe from being blocked on Zillow. |
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Co-Host WGAN-TV Podcast Suisun City, California |
SparksMediaGroup private msg quote post Address this user | |
| my thoughts... Welp, Zillow and CoStar Group (who own's Matterport, Loopnet, Homes.com, Apartments.com, and more) started beefing today... similar to Drake and Kendrick (Lamar)... i'm going out on a limb to say that CoStar is Kendrick and Zillow is Drake in todays beef. I made a video about what was announced, its worth watching. in summary.. Matterport/CoStar sued Zillow for copyright infringement a while ago, today Zillow pulled Matterport tours from its platform (and blamed Matterport/CoStar). Matterport/CoStar released a statement saying Zillow is just made they are getting sued. A few MLS's jumped in (kind of like Karen's asking for a manager) and said that agents had to remove ALL matterport links from ALL mls's (current, in contract, closed,sold, etc) or face a fine. Meanwhile I'm sitting back like Michael Jackson eating Popcorn in the Thriller music video just observing. Video: CoStar Group vs. Zillow: Today's announcement and what it means. | 20 October 2025 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks | www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace Tom Sparks Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks | www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com Scan Your Space has Posting Privileges in the We Get Around Network Forum ScanYourSpace is a WGAN Marketing Partner |
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WGAN Forum Founder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Video: CoStar Group vs. Zillow: Today's announcement and what it means. | 20 October 2025 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks | www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace WGAN-TV | CoStar vs. Zillow — Today’s Announcement and What It Means | Video courtesy of Sparks Media Group | October 20, 2025 | Commentary by Tom Sparks (Sparks Media Group) Hi All, The ongoing power struggle between Zillow and CoStar and CoStar owned Matterport has reached a new level. In this video commentary (above), Tom Sparks (Sparks Media Group) breaks down today’s headline — Zillow pulls Matterport tours and blames CoStar — and shares his insights on what’s really happening behind the scenes. If you’ve been following WGAN’s coverage of this developing story, this post connects the dots between platform policies, licensing changes, MLS reactions, and what they could mean for real estate photographers and agents. The headline: Zillow pulls Matterport tours from listings — and blames CoStar. The context: Tom recorded this update on October 20, 2025, at 8:45 p.m. PST, shortly after the story broke on Real Estate News. What happened According to Real Estate News, Zillow claimed that CoStar (which acquired Matterport in April 2025) did not renew Zillow’s Matterport API agreement. But CoStar says that’s not the case. Zillow announced that it was removing Matterport 3D tours (“Matterport Spaces”) from Zillow.com and StreetEasy because of alleged usage restrictions. The move was first reported by Inman. Zillow’s statement Zillow asserted that “CoStar is trying to wall off data.” Zillow’s email to the press said: “Due to CoStar’s decision to restrict its content, Zillow removed Matterport 3D virtual tours from listings on our sites.” The company characterized the restriction as an attempt to limit how real-estate professionals can use the content they pay for and highlighted that its own Zillow 3D Home tool can be used on and beyond its platforms. CoStar’s response CoStar fired back, accusing Zillow of “intentionally misrepresenting its terms.” A CoStar spokesperson stated: “Neither Matterport’s nor CoStar Group’s media licensing terms have changed. While media created by CoStar Group explicitly for use on our platforms is proprietary, Matterport customers can share their spaces anywhere — including on Zillow.” They clarified that the September 29, 2025 update to CoStar’s Terms & Conditions restricts only CoStar-created media from being displayed on competing platforms — not customer-generated Matterport tours. “If Zillow is removing Matterport Spaces from its website, that is a decision Zillow made unilaterally to the detriment of their customers.” CoStar CEO’s earlier remarks When CoStar announced its $1.6 billion acquisition of Matterport in April 2024, CEO Andy Florance told Real Estate News: “We want to open it up to the whole world. The bigger your model, the more intelligent it is.” He added that CoStar’s goal was to expand digital-twin adoption, not restrict it. The broader battle This isn’t their first clash. In July, CoStar sued Zillow for allegedly using more than 46,000 copyrighted photos without permission. Zillow has since removed many images, but the legal fight continues. CoStar insists the Matterport issue is unrelated to that lawsuit: “Zillow was caught infringing on CoStar Group’s copyrighted photographs on a massive scale. Having been caught red-handed, Zillow is now playing games to stir up customer confusion and divert attention from its many lawsuits.” Matterport’s email to customers Tom received an email from Matterport at 4:18 p.m. PST: “Dear valued customer, we are writing to correct the intentional misrepresentations that you may have heard Zillow spreading regarding Matterport Spaces. You can continue to share your Matterport Spaces anywhere, including Zillow. Neither Matterport’s nor CoStar Group’s media licensing terms have changed. If Zillow is removing Matterport Spaces from its website, that is a decision Zillow made unilaterally to the detriment of their customers.” Matterport called Zillow’s API claim a “red herring” and accused Zillow of diverting attention from ongoing FTC and state lawsuits. CRMLS notice and $1,500 fine warning On the We Get Around Network Forum, member Home3D shared an email sent to CRMLS agents in Los Angeles: “All CRMLS users must immediately remove any media originating from Homes.com, CoStar, or affiliated entities — including Matterport virtual tours and floor plans — or face a $1,500 fine.” Tom’s reaction: “I get why they’re doing it—they don’t want to be liable if CoStar sues them—but Matterport clearly says users can still share links. It feels like a money grab from the MLS.” Tom’s take “Everybody’s blaming everybody. It’s frustrating.” So far, Tom says none of his clients are concerned or changing providers. He plans to continue using Matterport without hesitation. “I like Matterport. I use Matterport. I’m going to continue to offer Matterport without hesitation.” He noted that Zillow’s own “3D Home Tour” is not a true 3D product and does not compare to Matterport, iGUIDE, Giraffe360, or Realsee. Final thoughts “This news just came out today. I’m not going to freak out until I see MLS links getting removed or fines being issued.” Tom believes Zillow’s move may be more about legal posturing than technical limitations: “It’s like the news is put out there, everyone forms an opinion, but no one’s reading between the lines. I’ll worry if MLSs start rejecting Matterport links — but that hasn’t happened yet.” Tom Sparks Sparks Media Group [link=https://www.SparksMediaGroup.com www.SparksMediaGroup.com Has your -- your clients' -- MLS issued any notice or guidance about Matterport links? Dan |
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