__twocolumncontent.jpg)
U.S. broadcast networks – including all five of the major nets and Univision, Telemundo and PBS—took their fight over Aereo to the Supreme Court on Friday, filing a petition asking the justices to put the streaming service out of business.
IAC-backed Aereo uses antennas to grab TV station signals off the air and then converts them to digital streams and delivers them over the Internet for about $10 a month. Aereo, which this week also announced an Android app, currently is offered in New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Salt Lake City and is expanding to other markets across the country.
Broadcasters claim that Aereo is stealing its signals under a violation of the Copyright Act, but so far, the courts haven’t agreed. On Thursday, a federal judge in Boston denied Hearst’s preliminary injunction motion. Last April, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City also declined to enjoin the upstart service based on broadcasters’ legal arguments. Last Monday, Fox, Sinclair and Local TV sued Aereo in Salt Lake City, where it just started offering its service.
Aereo, meanwhile, says its service operates as a private transaction, similar to a consumer buying an antenna, putting it on the roof, and getting broadcast signals that way, and thus is perfectly legal.
While the courts have thus far found in favor of Aereo, a similar service, FilmOn X, has not been as lucky, with courts in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. enjoining that service. That case is due to go in front of California’s Ninth Circuit Court, and if the Ninth finds in favor of broadcasters in that case, it could set up a conflict of legal opinion that encourages the Supreme Court to take the case.
“Make no mistake, Aereo is stealing our broadcast signal,” said a Fox spokesman in relation to the petition. “As do so many businesses both large and small, broadcasters rely on enforcement of the law to receive fair value for the high quality news, sports and entertainment we create and in turn deliver to millions of Americans each day.”
Brief Take: Broadcasters’ hopes for ridding themselves of the Aereo threat now rests with the Supreme Court, which is a risky business bet.
Tags: