New York’s U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals does not want to hear about Aereo, the Internet live-TV streaming service that the major broadcasters are rallying against, again. The court denied an en banc request to rehear the networks’ appeal on the decision that Aereo is not violating copyrights.
ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox have all agreed that Aereo needs to be shut down. The service, owned by media mogul Barry Diller, takes over-the-air signals and brings them to your computer, allowing you to stream and record shows that are broadcast for free online. It’s cheap, since Aereo isn’t paying the same licensing fees that cable companies are. So when the 2nd Circuit ruled in April that the company wasn’t violating copyright terms, the networks quickly filed an en banc request to review the case. Reuters notes that the court also turned down the request to have aereo shut down while the court battle continued.
But again, the court ruled in Aereo’s favor on Tuesday, deciding not to rehear the appeal.
“The Second Circuit’s denial of our request for an ‘en banc’ hearing, while disappointing was not unexpected,” a Fox spokesperson said in a statement, notes The Los Angeles Times. “We will now review our options and determine the appropriate course of action, which include seeking a hearing in the U.S. Supreme Court and proceeding to a full trial on the merits of the case.”
CBS added, “This decision comes as no surprise and all industry lawsuits against Aereo and similar services that steal our content are going forward as planned.”
In the meantime, Aereo continues to grow, moving into Boston most recently. There, Hearst Corp. has filed a lawsuit against the company. Aereo is next moving to Chicago in September.
image: Aereo