Appeals Court setback for Aereo
March 10, 2014
By Colin Mann
Internet TV streaming service has been denied an attempt to overturn the six-state injunction against its operation. In February, a federal judge in Utah ordered Aereo to stop operating in six states, after determining that the company’s service is “indistinguishable from a cable company” .
March 7, a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel denied Aereo’s request to suspend the Utah judge’s preliminary injunction.
“Aereo has not made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal,” ruled the panel in its decision.
“We are disappointed in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals 2:1 decision denying our request to stay the injunction in the 10th Circuit,” said a company spokesperson. “We believe that Aereo’s individual, cloud-based antenna and DVR technology falls squarely within the law and we look forward to presenting our case to the US Supreme Court.”
Th majority judges’ order means that Aereo’s services will go dark in Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Montana.
Although the February’s ruling covers the entire region of Judge Dale Kimball’s jurisdiction, Aereo currently only operates in the Denver and Salt Lake City areas.
The Barry Diller-backed service is appealing Kimball’s ruling and sought a lifting of the injunction lifted during that process.
Aereo faces a Supreme Court battle with the major US broadcasters on April 22.