TiVo said Friday that it has received bankruptcy court approval to buy some assets of Aereo, an online startup that offered a cheaper alternative to cable TV.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Aereo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, 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 in the summer of 2014 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.
TiVo Inc. President and CEO Tom Rogers said in a statement Friday that the San Jose, California-based company will acquire Aereo's trademarks and customer lists. He said that it will help Tivo serve consumers that "want access to both broadcast television and over the top content."
Tivo's products include equipment to record TV shows for later viewing.
TiVo said that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan approved the transaction earlier this week as the last step in the sales process of Aereo's patents, hardware and other assets.
Shares of Tivo slipped 2 cents to $10.77 in morning trading. Its shares are down more than 15 percent over the past year.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More