The Solicitor General of the U.S. put his name and that of the Obama administration solidly in the anti-Aereo camp with an amicus brief (read it here) filed with the Supreme Court today.
Lots Of Action Soon In SC’s ‘Aereo’ Case
February has been a busy month in the pending ABC v. Aereo Supreme Court (SC) case and there’s plenty on tap for March and April. Here’s a summary of the activity and a preview of what’s next in the case that will decide whether Aereo’s TV station retransmission business is legal or not.
In their opening brief to the Supreme Court, broadcasters challenge the legality of Aereo but also say that a win for the start-up streaming service would be “deeply problematic” and force them to reconsider the quality and quantity of shows on free, over-the-air TV.
The broadcasters and Aereo will argue their case before the Supreme Court on April 22 at 11 a.m., the court announced today. The court agreed on Jan. 10 to hear arguments on the petition that ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and several other broadcasters submitted on Oct. 11, 2013.
What Would An Aereo High Court Win Mean?
That’s still a big question for broadcast TV investors today following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to hear the industry’s claim that Aereo infringes on their copyrights with it streams their over-the-air programming without permission. Most broadcast company stocks including Sinclair, Gannett, and Gray Television are down today, slightly more than the overall market. But Wall Street analysts — who typically like to encourage people to buy stocks — mostly urge investors to relax.
Exclusives
Cablevision Systems Corp. criticized the arguments made by broadcasters in a Supreme Court filing seeking to shut down Aereo, a start-up company that delivers local television station signals to consumers via the Internet. Cablevision said the case that broadcasters including Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC are attempting to make against Aereo is a “willful attempt to stifle innovation.”
The possibility is growing that the Supreme Court will eventually be asked to settle broadcasters’ legal battle with Aereo and FilmOn X. As both broadcasters and the companies await a key decision due from a San Francisco appellate court, broadcasters are stepping up the pressure on the two services.
