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    Aereo Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1776 Views
    In this Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, file photo, Chet Kanojia, founder and CEO of television-over-the-Internet service Aereo, Inc., shows a tablet displaying his company's technology, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

    TV-over-internet service seeks protection in wake of Supreme Court ruling

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Aereo, an online startup that tried to offer a cheaper alternative to cable TV, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection less than five months after an unfavorable ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

    The company backed by media mogul Barry Diller allowed people to watch and record broadcast TV online for $8 a month on tablets, phones and other gadgets. Unlike Hulu and other online video services, Aereo offered live streaming of broadcast channels.

    The Supreme Court ruled this summer that Aereo had been operating like a cable TV company, meaning that unless it paid broadcasters licensing fees, it was in violation of copyright law.

    Aereo suspended its operations three days later.

    The company got its start in New York and had expanded to about 10 other metropolitan areas, including Boston, Houston and Atlanta, though it never disclosed how many subscribers it had.

    The Supreme Court decision "effectively changed the laws that had governed Aereo's technology, creating regulatory and legal uncertainty," CEO Chet Kanojia said.

    The Chapter 11 filing will allow Aereo Inc. to maximize the value of its business while avoiding the cost and distraction of litigation, said Kanojia.

    Aereo didn't provide many details about what it would do with its technology but in a March interview with The Associated Press, Kanojia said the company's Internet-based recording technology was itself valuable.

    "The fact that we've created this cloud-based system at a cost point, and it works, is going to have a lot of value to a lot of people," he said then.

    Potential buyers of that technology could include cable-television operators that are trying to maintain subscriber levels by offering new ways to watch TV online. Cable operators pay broadcasters millions of dollars in licensing fees, and would not be subject to the same legal challenges.

    Category:News
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    A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.

    The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.

    Here's what it all means:

    What is the Justice Department's goal?
    Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.

    "The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."

    Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."

    It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More

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