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Still Reeling From Supreme Court Ruling, Aereo Files For Bankruptcy

Aereo.com, a Web service that provides television shows online, is shown on an iPhone on April 22. The Supreme Court ruled that the service violates copyright law.
Andrew Burton
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Getty Images
Aereo.com, a Web service that provides television shows online, is shown on an iPhone on April 22. The Supreme Court ruled that the service violates copyright law.

Months after a Supreme Court decision shattered its business model, the streaming service Aereo has filed for bankruptcy.

"The U.S. Supreme Court decision effectively changed the laws that had governed Aereo's technology, creating regulatory and legal uncertainty," the company's founder and CEO Chet Kanojia . "And while our team has focused its energies on exploring every path forward available to us, without that clarity, the challenges have proven too difficult to overcome."

Aereo, as we've explained, used to let subscribers watch video from over-the-air TV stations on the Internet.

This past summer, the Supreme Court heard a case against the company brought by Fox and CBS, which argued that Aereo's service violated their copyright.

The Supreme Court sided with the TV networks, which said Aereo posed an existential threat and that if they lost, they would have considered ending their over-the-air broadcasts.

"We have traveled a long and challenging road," Kanojia said. "We stayed true to our mission and we believe that we have played a significant part in pushing the conversation forward, helping force positive change in the industry for consumers."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.