Online streaming service Aereo has suspended its operations following last week’s ruling by the US Supreme Court that it breaches the copyright of major sports leagues and their broadcast partners.
In October, ABC, CBS, NBC Universal and Fox requested the Supreme Court hear their case against Aereo, which utilises personal television antennas to give subscribers access to free-to-air broadcast channels for a small fee. The broadcasters were supported by baseball’s MLB and American football’s NFL leagues in appealing against an April 2013 decision by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals denying their request to shut down Aereo.
The Supreme Court rejected an earlier appeals court decision which had ruled the fledgling service did not breach broadcasters’ copyright, with judges voting 6-3 against the earlier ruling. Following the decision, Aereo chief executive and founder Chet Kanojia announced the suspension of the service as the company weighs up its next move, adding its “journey is far from done.”
Kanojia wrote in a letter to customers: “As a result of that (Supreme Court) decision, our case has been returned to the lower Court. We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps.
“The spectrum that the broadcasters use to transmit over the air programming belongs to the American public and we believe you should have a right to access that live programming whether your antenna sits on the roof of your home, on top of your television or in the cloud.”
MLB and the NFL threatened to move all their rights to pay-television if Aereo was deemed to be legal.