At issue is whether Aereo, under U.S. copyright law, can continue to avoid paying license fees to rebroadcast content as it brings live, broadcast television through its tiny antennas. The service allows users in 13 cities to watch broadcast TV online, for $8 a month.
Broadcasters call it theft, the Justice Department backed them up, and soon, the high court will hear the case.
"We urged the court to take the case as well, which is unusual," said Aereo's founder and CEO, Chet Kanojia, during an interview in Austin. "But we did it simply because it was very obvious that the strategy for the other side was to kill us by suing us in every possible jurisdiction. It's better strategically for us to force the issue now."
It could have serious ramifications for the way we watch TV, and more immediately, what kinds of sports and programming we can get on TV, as The New Yorker lays out:
"Whatever the reason for the Court's interest, the broadcast networks and their partners have warned that they are not above holding their programming hostage if Aereo prevails. In an amicus brief supporting the networks, the National Football League and Major League Baseball argue that Aereo's business model jeopardizes billions of dollars in license fees. The leagues say that they will have to consider removing their games from the public airwaves and placing them exclusively on cable to keep them away from Aereo's antennae."