The TV providers are thinking about bypassing broadcasters' fees by capturing free over-the-air TV signals and streaming them online. October 25, 2013 5:22 PM PDT Aereo's Android app. (Credit: Aereo) TV providers DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, and Charter Communications are thinking about capturing free broadcast signals and streaming TV shows over the Internet to get around paying networks, Bloomberg reported Friday. The new approach would mimic Aereo, an online TV provider at the center of a huge legal battle with the nation's top broadcast networks (including CBS, CNET's parent company). Aereo uses tiny antennas to allow consumers to stream live and local broadcasts over the Internet and store shows in the cloud. Related stories Aereo launches its first Android app in public beta Aereo to motor into Detroit on October 28 Broadcasters petition Supreme Court in Aereo fight Aereo has been fairly successful in the courtroom so far. If it wins in the end, it could mean TV providers can use the same practice to avoid paying retransmission fees, unnamed sources told Bloomberg. One source goes so far to say that Time Warner Cable, which has been at odds with CBS over fees, has considered buying Aereo. Donna Tam Donna Tam is a staff writer for CNET News and a native of San Francisco. She enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail, and reading on her Kindle. Before landing at CNET, she wrote for daily newspapers, including the Oakland Tribune, The Spokesman-Review, and the Eureka Times-Standard.
The TV providers are thinking about bypassing broadcasters' fees by capturing free over-the-air TV signals and streaming them online.
Aereo's Android app.
(Credit: Aereo)
TV providers DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, and Charter Communications are thinking about capturing free broadcast signals and streaming TV shows over the Internet to get around paying networks, Bloomberg reported Friday.
The new approach would mimic Aereo, an online TV provider at the center of a huge legal battle with the nation's top broadcast networks (including CBS, CNET's parent company). Aereo uses tiny antennas to allow consumers to stream live and local broadcasts over the Internet and store shows in the cloud.
Related stories
- Aereo launches its first Android app in public beta
- Aereo to motor into Detroit on October 28
- Broadcasters petition Supreme Court in Aereo fight
Aereo has been fairly successful in the courtroom so far. If it wins in the end, it could mean TV providers can use the same practice to avoid paying retransmission fees, unnamed sources told Bloomberg. One source goes so far to say that Time Warner Cable, which has been at odds with CBS over fees, has considered buying Aereo.
Donna Tam is a staff writer for CNET News and a native of San Francisco. She enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail, and reading on her Kindle. Before landing at CNET, she wrote for daily newspapers, including the Oakland Tribune, The Spokesman-Review, and the Eureka Times-Standard.
