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 wo...
Aereo Shuts Down After Supreme Court Loss
Written by Pam Wright

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 [email protected] 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

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