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Tag: Aereo

  • Aereo Shuts Down After Supreme Court Loss

    Aereo Shuts Down After Supreme Court Loss

    Consumers are going to have to continue to pay big bucks for their television via cable and satellite packages — at least for the time being.

    Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia announced Saturday his company would “pause our operations temporarily” after a Supreme Court 6-3 decision that said his broadcasting model infringed upon broadcasters’ copyrights.

    The 2-year-old startup was in the process of changing the way consumers received their favorite television shows. The company planned on setting up small antennas in about dozen U.S. cities to pick up broadcast TV channels and stream to computers, smartphones and other devices, at a cost of $8 per month for subscribers.

    “As a result of that decision, our case has been returned to the lower Court,” said Kanojia on the company’s website. “We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps. You will be able to access your cloud-based antenna and DVR only until 11:30 a.m. ET today. All of our users will be refunded their last paid month. If you have questions about your account, please email support@aereo.com or tweet us @AereoSupport.”

    Consumers with an antenna can pick up signals from companies like ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox for free, but cable companies like Time-Warner Cable pay billions in fees for the right to include those channels in cable packages.

    Cable companies are breathing a sigh of relief following the decision. They worried that a decision for Aereo would open the floodgates for similar businesses, driving consumers away from high-cost TV packages.

    Proponents of Aereo contend the Supreme Court decision gives broadcasters more power to raise prices.

    Kanojia promises the fight may have been lost, but the war continues.

    “Keep your voices loud and sign up for updates at ProtectMyAntenna.org – our journey is far from done,” he wrote.

    Image via YouTube

  • Aereo On Last Leg Following Supreme Court Ruling

    The Supreme Court has spoken and popular streaming site Aereo will likely be kaput very soon.

    The site was the subject of a lengthy copyright battle due to the website’s ability to allow its users to watch and record television shows. At a price range of $8 to $12 per month, it was a steal for fans of the site.

    In addition to watching shows on television and recording with DVR devices, customers could also access the content through smartphones, tablets, and personal computers.

    The highly accessible Aereo was making a great deal of money off of content the website simply did not own.

    Needless to say, the affected cable providers and content owners were anything but thrilled.

    Despite the conflict, it wasn’t easy to determine just how to approach Aereo’s wrongdoing.

    For instance, broadcasters claimed that the website violated the Copyright Act by providing audiences paid access to content the site itself did not own or have permission to share.

    Aereo defended itself by saying it only provided users a means of accessing television. The website claimed its services were no more illegal or harmful than a television antenna.

    The problem with this argument is that Aereo is broadcasting paid content; a great deal of money was spent to make the content available through cable providers. The site itself pays nothing while charging customers for its service.

    Making a profit in such a manner is just too unscrupulous to avoid running into legal trouble.

    It was the opinion of the Supreme Court that Aereo was, by virtue of its paid service, a cable provider. As such, the company is subject to copyright law.

    The court ruled that the laws were meant to protect cable providers from the “unlicensed activities of Aereo” and similar lawbreakers.

    Does the court’s ruling necessarily spell the end of Aereo?

    Well, not immediately.

    The amount of content that Aereo typically shares is going to cost a GREAT deal of money should the website “go straight”. Perhaps more money than the website can afford to spend and stay afloat.

    It will most likely shrink to a “manageable” level of content, which may drive users elsewhere. If that doesn’t test customer loyalty than the inevitable price hike surely will.
    In any case, it doesn’t look good for Aereo.

    The case is also expected to have heavy ramifications when it comes to online streaming.

    Since the Supreme Court has made a ruling with regard to copyright laws and violations through streamed content, it will only be a matter of time before certain websites feel the heat.

    Paid streaming or not, a bevy of lawsuits probably were filed within minutes of this landmark ruling.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Aereo Adds Chromecast Support On Android

    More and more online video content services are adding support for Google’s $35 Chromecast streaming device since Google launched the SDK earlier this year.

    On Thursday, Aereo announced that it now supports the device. The Aereo app for Android is available for download in the Google Play store (here), and subscribers can access its antenna and DVR technology to record and watch live broadcast television with Chromecast.

    Aereo lets users pause, rewind and fast-forward live TV, and save programs for future viewing. It’s supported on iOS, Android, Chrome for Mac and Windows, Safari, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Opera, Apple TV, and Roku. It costs $8 per month, but for $4 more, subscribers can get 60 hours of DVR storage.

    So far it’s only available in New York, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Baltimore, Cincinnati, San Antonio, and Austin. More cities are planned for this year.

    Earlier this week, Google announced that the WatchESPN app, MLS Matchday, and Crunchyroll have all added Chromecast support. These join MLB.tv, Crackle, Rdio, Vudu, 5by, Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu Plus, Pandora, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Play Music, Songza, Red Bull TV, Vevo, Plex, PostTV, Viki, and RealPlayer Cloud.

    Google also expanded Chromecast availability to Australia, Belgium, Japan, Korea, Portugal and Switzerland.

    Image via Google

  • Aereo TV Service Threatened by Supreme Court Case

    In a case which alludes to the 1984 Betamax case, the pseudo-TV service Aereo is being threatened by a lawsuit from major cable companies. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will start hearing arguments from both sides.

    Two years ago, Aereo was brought to New York City. The concept of the company was simple, yet brilliant. Utilizing thousands of tiny, thumbnail-sized antennas, Aereo would allow customers the opportunity to view public network broadcasts on their computer, phones, or tablets through a subscription service. At the Aereo headquarters, each subscriber would be assigned their own, individual antenna by which they would receive the television broadcasts. Not only can subscribers to Aereo watch the broadcasts live, but they can also watch them at a later date due to the cloud-based DVR services offered by Aereo.

    Essentially, Aereo’s service provides public, free, network television broadcasts, through tiny antennas, to those who do not have or do not wish to have a TV or antenna set-up.

    The complaint with Aereo from the cable companies and broadcasters is that the company does not pay a retransmission fee to broadcast said channels.

    If Dish or DirecTV or Time Warner or any other cable company wants to transmit local, network television to its customers, it has to pay a retransmission fee because the Copyright Act of 1976 states that these cable companies provide a form of “public performance”, i.e. the companies show the broadcasts en masse to millions of patrons.

    The major cable companies and broadcasters feel as if Aereo should have to pay the same retransmission fee.

    “Aereo has built a business out of retransmitting broadcast television to members of the public without seeking authorization from or paying compensation to copyright holders… It is settled law that third parties must pay for the rights to transmit performances of copyrighted works to the public,” stated Washington Appellate Lawyer Paul Clement, the man representing the major broadcast companies in the suit.

    Aereo’s lawyer, David Frederick, believes otherwise, however: “When an Aereo user plays her personal recording of a broadcast work and views its images and sounds over the Internet, the ‘performance’ she transmits and receives is that playback – not the broadcaster’s prior performance… Because Aereo’s technology cannot be used to transmit content other than from a user’s personal recording, it does not transmit the performance embodied in petitioners’ broadcasts… Nothing goes into or comes out of Aereo’s equipment except in response to a user’s commands.”

    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/supreme-court-agrees-hear-arguments-internet-tv-service-aereo/

    While the case may seem fairly cut and dry, it is the lack of legal precedence or proper legislation which makes this case so interesting and confusing. Only six cases with relevance to Aereo’s case have been documented in Supreme Court history, and the rulings have been so diverse that there is no discernible pattern as to what the decision might be: “There’s nothing that ties the Supreme Court’s hands in this case, which makes it doubly intriguing,” explained Shyamkrishna Balganesh, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s law school.

    Making the case even more intriguing is the divide among even like-minded justices. Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer, both Democratic justices appointed by Bill Clinton, are expected to side with opposite parties due to the vagueness of copyright law – Ginsberg is expected to side with the Copyright Act of 1976 due to her intimate knowledge of the subject, while Breyer is expected to side with Aereo due to his lenience toward intellectual property rights.

    In the end, the decision as to whether or not Aereo will be allowed to continue is one with immense implications for the future of digital media. If it wins, Aereo and future services could change the way in which consumers watch TV forever. If it loses, cloud-storage services, such as DropBox, could face legal issues in the future due to copyright violations.

    Regardless of the outcome, Aereo has pushed-in all of its chips: “There’s no plan B,” stated Barry Diller, the man whose company backs Aereo. “If we lose, we’re finished. I can’t see any path forward.”

    Image via Facebook

  • Aereo Will Let You Stream Live TV To Your Phone, Tablet Or PC

    Aereo is a new service launching next month, that could be another step in the greater cord cutting trend. It lets you stream local broadcast channels to your mobile device, tablet or PC. It’s starting out in New York, but one would expect it to expand.

    Here’s the company’s stated mission:

    One day, a group of brilliant engineers at Aereo created a new species of antenna. Just the size of a thumbnail, this small but mighty creature captured the hearts of New York City airwaves and became accessible to us through the Internet. We combined these antennas with a beautiful interface for what became a perfect marriage. A match made in heaven… Well, maybe not heaven, but close: the New York City Skyline. Your Broadcast is live, DVR is on board. Our launch crew has developed a better way for you to be entertained… So take a deep breath – no more gasping for air. We have your Aereo supply.

    “Our vision is simple; we are trying to simplify,” the company says. “TV at the moment is complicated. Between the lackluster technology and the lack of choice and portability there is room for improvement. So, we’re making our television experience simple. We’re breaking free from clutter and complication, wires and boxes, and useless gadgetry. TV comprises an essential part of our cultural heritage. We enjoy waking up to the morning news – it’s habitual. We love our dramas, our live sports, and ending our day with uplifting sitcoms. TV is a tradition, an escape and a source of comfort. TV is important to our lives so it must function well. We’re providing a new technology that enables choice and freedom. Your life is on your own terms. TV should be as well. It’s that simple.”

    When a user signs up for the service, they are assigned an antenna to watch TV on their mobile devices. An account is needed, which can even be set up using existing Facebook or Twitter IDs. “There is no downloading necessary,” the company says. “No apps, no cords, no clutter, no fuss. Sign in from your computer, tablet, or phone. You can even stream on your big TV. Enjoy live programming or record your favorite shows. That’s it.”

    Sounds pretty good.

    Here’s a demo:

    Right now, you have to request an invitation. And, as mentioned above, it’s only for New York City at this point.

    It costs $12 a month for 27 channels (including local).