14 DAY TRIAL // It’s make-or-break time for streaming startup Aereo. The Supreme Court will pick up the case and decide whether Aereo has the right to stream TV network’s content over the Internet or not.
For the better part of the past year, Aereo was in one legal battle or another with TV broadcasters in the United States. If one case is won by Aereo, another one is launched by broadcasters in another city.
Tired of the entire situation, the Supreme Court has been asked to intervene to settle the case once and for all.
Once the Supreme Court makes a decision, the ruling is final. So, if they decide that Aereo’s operations are legal, there will be no more lawsuits against the company. Depending on the ruling, the future of the media industry could take a completely new shape.
If the case goes in favor of Aereo, other similar companies could soon follow in its footsteps, creating a new business model.
“We look forward to presenting our case to the Supreme Court and we have every confidence that the Court will validate and preserve a consumer’s right to access local over-the-air television with an individual antenna, make a personal recording with a DVR, and watch that recording on a device of their choice,” Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia said.
He believes the case is critically important to the entire cloud computing and cloud storage industry.
“The landmark Second Circuit decision in Cablevision provided much needed clarity for the cloud industry and as a result, helped foster massive investment, growth and innovation in the sector. The challenges outlined in the broadcasters’ filing make clear that they are using Aereo as a proxy to attack Cablevision itself and thus, undermine a critical foundation of the cloud computing and storage industry,” Kanojia said.
He also notes that consumers have a right to use an antenna to access over-the-air television and to make personal recordings of those broadcasts.
Aereo expanded in quite a few cities last year, despite all the legal troubles caused by TV networks.