PromoTheRobot Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) http://variety.com/2...-tv-1200847089/ Anyone here familiar with a website called Aereo? It's only set up in a few large cities right now, Boston being one of them. What they do is pick up local TV off an antenna and stream it only to people who live within the designated TV market area. They charge $8/mo for this service. TV broadcasters have taken them to court claiming piracy but Aereo keeps winning because all they are doing is making TV available online to people who have the right to watch these channels over the air. And because they receive channels over the air they are not required to pay retransmission fees like cable TV companies. So now everyone has their panties in a wad over Aereo. And apparently some sports leagues don't like the notion that Aereo can stream their games and pay them nothing. PTR Edited November 18, 2013 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OvrOfficiousJerk Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 (edited) Yep, I've heard of Aereo. My interested blunted when I realized it was only available in select cities, but I have to imagine it's only going to grow. And another reason why the NFL's broadcast partners might have an itchy trigger finger to go cable is because Fox Sports 1 and CBS Sports Network are hanging on by a thread. As opposed to the other newcomer -- NBC Sports Network with NHL and EPL, among many others -- Fox and CBS only have token properties to populate those networks. I'll pass on the normal fare on CBS Sports Network -- Eastern Wyoming St. vs. Air Force -- but Patriots-Broncos? Yes please! On the other hand, the NFL is going to lose a LOT of leverage when it comes to blackouts and public funding of stadiums. If I'm dropping ~$130 per month to Time Warner Cable, I should be able to watch the Bills game regardless if it sells out. And if NFL games are no longer free for the public to watch in a team's market, why should the public pay for stadia? Aside from SF, NYC and Dallas, public funding is not going away anytime soon (see Vikings, Minnesota and Falcons, Atlanta). Ultimately, though, what might happen is a compromise where all home games may be over the air still subject to blackout while away games will be cable TV. But the best way for cable TV survive to the 21st Century is a weekly NFL explosion. All markets get all games. Instead of CSI: Cheektowaga reruns on TBS, how about NFL coverage? CBS already does that for March Madness (I don't think I've ever watched TruTV outside of NCAA tourney regionals), so there's already precedent for sports to take over these stations. Show the game of the week on CBS Sports Network and then in decreasing importance: TNT, TBS with the Bills-Jags clunker/Spero Dedes special on TruTV. I'd pay TWC double if that ever happened. Thanks for playing Direct TV, but Sunday Ticket's a dinosaur and the cable companies need some leverage to stay relevant. The NFL can provide just that. Edited November 19, 2013 by OvrOfficiousJerk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wiz Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 NFL will likely buy aereo out and dismantle it before they give in to anything they are giving away that is justified to the local market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 NFL will likely buy aereo out and dismantle it before they give in to anything they are giving away that is justified to the local market. yep or they end up like Hoffa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 look for google or apple to make the play for sunday ticket. The cable companies and the constant lousy service they provide will not win a bid versus Directv or Google Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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