Television Broadcasters vs. Aereo HPHE 6620 Kellen McCrary, Greg Sullivan, Paul Goobic, Travis Potter.

Television Broadcasters vs. Aereo

HPHE 6620 Kellen McCrary, Greg Sullivan, Paul Goobic, Travis Potter

Introduction

15 years ago, it would have been farfetched to think watching videos on a mobile device like a tablet or smart phone was even possible

Thanks to recent technological innovations, the way we view television has changed completely

We are now able to stream live television to our mobile devices, as well as record and save live broadcast programming so it can be viewed at the leisure of the user

Introduction However, some individuals argue these

innovations create back lash and turmoil despite being a key aspect of our society

One of the most compelling arguments against this innovation is how televised sporting events are affected

History of the Aereo Aereo was created by a 43 year old India

native named Chet Kanojia

Kanojia came to the United States and earned a Master's in Computer Systems Engineering from Northeastern University

In 2008, he sold Navic Systems to Microsoft for a reported 250 million dollars

History of Aereo From this financial success, Kanojia then

pursued the technology we see before us today in Aereo

With the help of media mogul Barry Diller, the company officially took off in 2010 with New York City being the first exposed to Aereo’s technology

How Basic TV Broadcast Works Broadcast television (over-the-air) is made possible

via radio frequency which transports electromagnetic waves or radiation through the atmosphere, thus in turn allowing people to watch TV.

Some examples of well-known television networks in the United States that broadcast over the air content are CBS, FOX, PBS and NBC Television

Originally, broadcasts were captured through the use of antennas that can be placed on or around the television which in turn captured signals (Bunny Ears)

How Aereo Works As mentioned previously, users that do not have television

subscriptions or do not have cable access are generally required to install their own satellite antenna in order to capture broadcast content

The captured content is generally only available for display on a traditional television

Aereo, the online television startup that streams over-the-air broadcasts via tiny individual antennas, enables users to separately access individual antenna feeds over a network connection

How Aereo Works Each user is assigned an antenna, such as their own

separate individual antenna from which they can record and/or stream content transmissions from over-the-air broadcasts

As users select content transmissions the individual antennas receive the broadcast content

At the user’s election, the system stores the content data to each of the users' individual accounts separately for later playback by that user and/or streams the content data to the separate users

Secondary Issue Petitioners thought Aereo was in direct violation of their public-performance right

by engaging in unauthorized public performances through the playback of DVR copies.

Because of 3 facts:

1) Aereo creates an unique copy of each television program for each subscriber who requests to watch that program

2) Each transmission is from that unique copy

3) The transmission of the unique copy is made solely to the subscriber who requested it

Denied!

Secondary Issue Continued

“A unique copy of a performance of work is transmitted only to that user. It is beyond dispute the transmission of a broadcast TV program received by an individual’s rooftop antenna to the TV in his/her living room is private, because only that individual can receive the transmission from that antenna.

Initial Lawsuit and Ruling In March 2012 PBS, Fox, Univision, NBC and CBS file a lawsuit against Aereo

Their Claim: -(Aereo) “is an unauthorized Internet delivery service that is receiving, converting and retransmitting broadcast signals to its subscribers.”

-Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act (1992)

Ruling:

-U.S. District judge Alison Nathan ruled against the broadcasters due to a precedent set in an earlier case Cartoon Network v CVC Holdings

Cartoon Network v CVC Holdings (2008) Cablevision sought to create a DVR service

Plaintiff suggested Cablevision violated the first right of the Copyright Act by buffering the data from its programming stream

Courts ruled that Cablevision’s service was not the same as a transmission to the public, thus it did not violate the Copyright Act.

**Therefore the initial lawsuit against Aereo was not upheld because of this prior ruling suggesting this type of transmission was fair and legal

Spring 2013: Broadcasters Fail -The Broadcasters are unsuccessful again

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: “Aereo’s streams of TV shows to individual subscribers did not constitute ‘public performances’ and…thus the lawsuits against the service ‘are not likely to prevail on the merits.”

Judge Denny Chin Appeals court Judge Denny Chin opposed the ruling and stood by

his belief that Aereo’s antenna system violates the Copyright Act and takes advantage of a loophole in the law.

Recent/Relevent Cases FilmOn X provides live streaming television to subscribers…Very

similar service as Aereo Broadcasters claim FilmOn X is violating Copyright Act (much like

Aereo)

Ruling: Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that the company violates the Copyright Act and banned the company from continuing service: “The Court respectfully disagrees with Aereo’s conclusion to the

contrary…It agrees with Judge Denny Chin that the ‘legislative history makes clear that Congress intended to reach new technologies…that are designed solely to exploit someone else’s work.”

Most Recent: Aereo vs. Broadcasters Winter 2014:

-Details from the initial lawsuit remain the same

-Aereo CEO is excited at the opportunity to defend his case…He claims Aereo’s users have control over the system thus making it a private service.

-Broadcasters are working off recent FilmOnX ruling and Judge Chin’s opposition in hopes of a positive ruling

-They argue the Copyright Act was intended to prohibit new technology from transmitting their signals without permission

Future Outcomes The result of the lawsuit could change the way we watch sports

on television.

Starting in 2014 the new NFL TV contracts with the CBS, FOX, and ESPN are worth $4 billion.

Right now Aereo streams CBS and FOX to its customers.

The fear is the NFL, and the other leagues to follow, will move their games to non-free networks to avoid Aereo and continue making money on their television contracts.

Not Limited to Sports This lawsuit obviously is not limited to the sports world.

The major broadcasters, FOX, CBS, NBC, and ABC are on the front lines of this fight agains Aereo.

They are preparing to make their channels paid subscriptions to prevent Aereo from broadcasting their product.

The fear is satellite and cable companies will move to create their own streaming services and not pay the broadcasting companies to show their channels.

NFL and MLB Threat The NFL and MLB have basically threatened to move their games

from CBS and FOX if Aereo is able to continue their practice.

The leagues claim they will make this move so Aereo can’t “hijack and exploit” their programming.

The biggest threat has come from the NFL as they have stated they would look into moving the Super Bowl off of a free network to prevent Aereo from streaming the game.

The MLB followed and said they would do the same to the World Series.

Possible College Effect The Aereo lawsuit could have a major effect on college sports as

well.

The NCAA Tournament has begun to move most of its games to cable television.

The Final Four will be broadcasted on TBS, a cable station.

Still the national championship is on CBS.

If Aereo is still in business the NCAA may move all of the NCAA Tournament to cable television.

The Super Bowl on Cable?

The biggest move that can be made is for the NFL to move the Super Bowl off of broadcast television.

This is the crown jewel of television and is always setting ratings records.

Once this move is made it will cause a drastic shift in sport television and sports on free TV will be over.