Aereo Files Complaint Against CBS for Whining About Court Upholding Ruling - The UpStream

Aereo Files Complaint Against CBS for Whining About Court Upholding Ruling

posted Monday May 13, 2013 by Nicholas DiMeo

Aereo Files Complaint Against CBS for Whining About Court Upholding Ruling

Things with Aereo are now heating up, as the company has been in headlines for the past few months. Most recently the NY Appeals Court upheld a ruling in favor of Aereo, which allows the over-the-air streaming service to remain in business, at least for now. This sparked so much outrage from the broadcasters that CBS threatened to become a cable station if Aereo doesn't shut down its operations. They also decided to trash Aereo in the process, calling the service "illegal" and other things that the court already found to be fair to date. Because of all of this, Aereo has decided to turn the tables on the broadcasters and aim their sights directly on CBS.

Obviously becoming annoyed from all of the lawsuits and threats, Aereo has filed a complaint, which states that CBS holding its OTA broadcast over Aereo and the rest of the country, along with filing a suit in each area which Aereo operates in, is going one step too far. To combat this, Aereo is also launching in Boston this week, and another 20 markets by the end of the summer. In the complaint, it says,

Such threatened follow-on suits would be an attempt to avoid or evade the District Court's rulings... by seeking "do-overs" in other courts. It is not proper for parties to attempt to re-litigate claims that are pending, let alone already decided... It would be highly inefficient and a waste of judicial resources.

Basically, Aereo is saying that CBS is whining about something that has already been decided and the fact that they are threatening to go to court yet again will only frustrate the courts, who will already agree with what has been ruled. CBS Communications Coordinator, Dana McClintock, even tweeted that CBS "will sue, and stealing our signal will be found to be illegal in Boston, just as it will be everywhere else." Aereo continues to state in the complaint that any further issues broadcasters would come up with about their streaming service should be brought to the attention of the New York federal court, where the hearings have been taking place. Allowing lawsuits to happen in each of their 22 markets would only give in to the "do-over" mentality of the broadcasters.

What it all boils down to is broadcasters fighting over the retransmission fees they feel they are owed. However, I would argue that if I was able to construct a big enough antenna to get New York over-the-air signals here in Tampa, I would do it without thinking twice. Luckily for me, Aereo exists and I'm able to watch OTA broadcasts without the need for that space needle. At any rate, the cable companies are definitely sweating now and we'll be sure to keep you in the loop as to what happens next, especially when Aereo opens up in Boston and beyond.

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