US Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case of Broadcasters vs Aereo

The U.S Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal filed by four major broadcasters against Aereo, an online television service. The broadcasters are suing Aereo for allegedly stealing copyright for TV content.

The plaintiffs include CBS Broadcasting Inc, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, Comcast Corps' NBC Universal, and Walt Disney Co's ABC network. Aereo, on the other hand, is backed by media mogul Barry Diller and his company, IAC/InterActiveCorp.

Aereo subscribers can watch live or recorded broadcasts of TV shows on their mobile devices by using a small antenna given to each subscriber. Aereo's services started in New York on March 2012 and since then; the company has reached 10 cities and is planning to work with more. The company charges a low monthly fee to their subscribers but do not pay the broadcasters whose shows are featured in their services.

According to Bloomberg, the broadcasters who filed the appeal said that Aereo has violated copyrights of their television shows. According to them, if Aereo continues operating like this, it may affect their ability to regulate user fees as well as generating income from advertisers.

On Friday, CBS said in a statement that Aereo's business system is "built on stealing the creative content of others."

On the other hand, Aereo is also asking the high court to hear the case again because they also want a clear decision on the issue. The company has already won the case in the lower court and they maintain they their service is nothing more than enabling their subscribers to watch television shows using their own personal antenna.

"We believe that consumers have a right to use an antenna to access over-the-air television and to make personal recordings of those broadcasts," Chet Kanojia, Aereo Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement to Reuters.

Organizations who filed court papers to show support for the broadcasters include Metro-Goldywn-Mayer Studios, National Football League, Major League Baseball, and other media companies.

A ruling for the case is expected to be made in June.