TV Broadcasters Tell Appeals Court to Shut Down Aereo

On November 30, the major TV broadcasters made their second attempt to shut down Aereo, the digital TV service that was funded in great part by Barry Diller and launched this past March.

Arguing before a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals panel, the challenge for the broadcasters was clear: They needed to convince the judges that a technology that already has been judicially certified as likely to irreparably harm the broadcasters also ran afoul of copyright laws. To this end, attorneys for the broadcasters spoke of Congress' intent when lawmakers crafted the legal underpinnings of the modern television industry. They also attempted to distinguish Aereo's system from a judicially blessed technology that was reviewed four years ago by the same appellate circuit.