What does the Aereo case mean for TV?
Aereo, the exclusively New York-based internet television streaming service has recently been getting the backs up of quite a few major players in the TV industry.
The company – which charges customers $12 per month in order to be able to watch live TV on their notebooks, smartphones, TV sets and tablets – streams all major TV networks and local channels.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Not to ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, who earlier this year launched a collective lawsuit against Aereo, which is backed by billionaire Barry Diller.
However, with the judge in the case ruling that Aereo could continue broadcasting despite the fact that it has allegedly committed copyright violations – by not obtaining the permission of the above networks to broadcast or paying them for the content it provides – the future looks bright for this plucky enterprise.
Following the favourable verdict, Diller has said that the network will be expanding out of New York City, according to a report in Bloomberg: “We’re going to really start marketing. Within a year and a half and certainly by 2013 we’ll be in most major” markets in the US.
This announcement means that Aereo could turn from a small headache into a raging, nationwide migraine for the beleaguered broadcasters, who staunchly believe that the service is violating copyright law.
Reacting to allegations of wrongdoing, Diller said: “The ability for consumers to receive broadcast over the air signal is their right.”
The networks, clearly dissatisfied with the initial verdict, are set to launch an appeal against the decision. Dennis Wharton, spokesperson for the National Association of Broadcasters said: “We’re confident that on appeal Aereo will be found to be a copyright infringer.”
Interestingly, Alison Nathan, the judge in the Aereo case stated the likelihood that the broadcasters would suffer “irreparable harm” should Aereo continue its current operations.
However, it was concluded that the legal precedent made it unlikely that the motion against Aereo would succeed.
The precedent in question was the case of Cablevision back in 2008, which was ruled not to be in violation of copyright law. Cablevision offered a DVR service that allowed customers to pause, record, replay or rewind recorded content which was stored on the company’s own servers.
With an even larger grouping of broadcasters – Cartoon Network, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Disney, CBS, ABC, NBC and Turner Broadcasting – failing to have their case for copyright infringement ratified in court, it remains to be seen whether Aereo will be brought to heel, or if it really will be plain sailing for the company as it pursues nationwide expansion.