An Indian-American innovator's video streaming service that sought to provide an alternative to traditional TV broadcasters, suspended its operations today, three days after the US Supreme Court ruled that it violated copyright laws.
The Supreme Court had ruled on Wednesday that Aereo had violated copyright laws by capturing broadcast signals on miniature antennas and transmitting them to subscribers for a fee.
"We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps," Chet Kanojia, Aereo's chief executive, said in a letter to customers sent this morning under the heading "Standing Together for Innovation, Progress and Technology."
Aereo said that the service would not be available after 11:30 am today and that it would give users a refund for their last paid month, The New York Times reported.
The company had fewer than 500,000 subscribers in about a dozen metropolitan areas.
Customers paid USD 8 to USD 12 a month to rent one of Aereo's dime-size antennas that captured over-the-air television signals.
They then could stream and record programmes from major broadcasters using their mobile phones, tablets, laptops and Internet-connected televisions.
In a 6-to-3 decision, the Supreme Court sided with broadcasters in a case that was closely watched by the media and technology industries.
The ruling comes as the foundation of the media business undergoes vast change reflecting a rush of new technologies and a rising number of consumers who are abandoning traditional pay-television subscriptions.
Aereo challenged the economics of the television business. Broadcasters were worried that had the start-up triumphed, it would have threatened the billions of dollars they received from cable and satellite companies in retransmission fees.
Top American cable broadcasters including ABC, CBS and Fox approached the Supreme Court, alleging that Aereo was an infringement on the current copyright laws.
Broadcasters argued that Aereo's business model violated copyright laws and was a high-tech way to steal their programmes. Aereo countered that its service was a digital-age solution for watching free over-the-air broadcasting.
Kanojia said Aereo's journey was "far from done". A spokeswoman underscored that the company was not shutting down, merely temporarily stopping its service.
"The spectrum that the broadcasters use to transmit over-the-air programming belongs to the American public, and we believe you should have a right to access that live programming whether your antenna sits on the roof of your home, on top of your television or in the cloud," Kanojia was quoted as saying in his letter to Aereo users.
