The legal tussles between Aereo and the major U.S. broadcast television networks have apparently caught the attention of two of the country’s leading sports networks.
In an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court last week, the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) argue that allowing Aereo to operate as it currently does will force the sports networks to move sporting events from free TV networks to pay cable television.
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Details of the brief, revealed in a document obtained by GigaOm, offer insight into why the two leading sports networks believe that Aereo could negatively impact their businesses. The brief states:
If copyright holders lose their exclusive retransmission licensing rights and the substantial benefits derived from those rights when they place programming on broadcast stations, those stations will become less attractive mediums for distributing copyrighted content. The option for copyright holders will be to move that content to paid cable networks (such as ESPN and TNT) where Aereo-like services cannot hijack and exploit their programming without authorization.
For those unfamiliar with how Aereo operates, the system allows viewers to pay for access to the company’s antennas that send clear streams of free live television broadcasts to your computer or mobile device. Major networks including CBS, ABC, NBCUniversal and Fox have been waging legal warfare with Aereo since it launched in 2012.
If the NFL and the MLB decide to eventually move their content to subscription-only television, it would mean that major free TV events like the Super Bowl and the World Series would be limited to those willing and able to pay for cable subscriptions .
Such a move would not only reshape the television advertising landscape, but could also impact the overall number of viewers that tune in to the events. According to Nielsen, this year’s Super Bowl drew 108.7 million viewers, while another report claims that the event has generated $1.72 billion in ad sales over the past 10 years.
When contacted by Mashable, an Aereo spokesperson declined to offer comment on the amicus brief filed by the two sports organizations.
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