Federal Communications Commission FCC 15-41
127
HGTV, Cartoon Network, and the Disney Channel, for $20 a month.
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Sling TV is available on Amazon
Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Roku, Xbox One, iOs, Android, Mac, PC, Google Nexus Player, and
select LG and Samsung Smart TVs.
271. Exit. Few existing OVDs have officially exited since our last report. Toys R Us
discontinued its movie EST and rental service in February 2014.
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Intel, which in February 2013
announced that it planned to offer an online video service called OnCue, abandoned the effort in
December 2013.
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In January 2014, Intel reached an agreement to sell its OnCue service to Verizon.
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272. Aereo, an Internet television service that streamed live and recorded broadcast television
to smartphones, tablets, and Internet-connected TVs
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suspended its service in mid-2014 after it lost its
legal battle with the broadcasting industry.
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In 2012, broadcasters sued Aereo for violating the 1976
Copyright Act and the 1992 Cable Act, by failing to negotiate with them for carriage of their signals.
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The case was ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court, and in June 2014, the Court held that Aereo was
in violation of the 1976 Copyright Act.
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The Court found that Aereo performed broadcasters’ works
publicly within the meaning of the Transmit Clause of the Copyright Act, and therefore infringed on the
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See DISH Network, Sling TV to Lauinch Live, Over-the-Top Service for $20 Per Month; Watch on TVs, Tablets,
Computers, Smartphones, Game Consoles (press release), Jan. 5, 2015, http://about.dish.com/press-release/products-
and-services/sling-tv-launch-live-over-top-service-20-month-watch-tvs-tablets. See also Tim Moynihan, Sling TV
Launches Today, Streaming Tons of Shows at Basic-Cable Prices, Feb. 9, 2015,
http://www.wired.com/2015/02/sling-tv-launches-today-streaming-expanded-cable-shows-basic-cable-prices/
(visited March 12, 2015).
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Toys R Us, Inc., Toys R Us Movies, We’re Sorry, Toys “R” Us Movies Has Been Discontinued,
http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=13311917 (visited April 22, 2014).
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Joel Paczkowski, Yes, Intel is Building a Web TV Service (A Box, Too), ALLTHINGSD, Feb. 12, 2013,
http://allthingsd.com/20130212/yes-intel-is-building-a-web-tv-service/ (visited June 25, 2014). Ina Fried, Brian
Krzanich on Why He Pulled the Plug on Intel’s TV Dreams, RECODE, Jan. 2, 2014,
http://recode.net/2014/01/02/brian-krzanich-on-why-he-pulled-the-plug-on-intels-tv-dreams/ (visited June 25, 2014).
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Dawn Chmielewski, Verizon to Buy Intel’s OnCue, L.A. TIMES, Jan. 22, 2014. See also WGAW Comments at
26.
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15
th
Report, 28 FCC Rcd at 10625-26, ¶ 266.
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Aereo, Inc., A Letter to Our Consumers, https://www.aereo.com/ (visited June 30, 3014).
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In March 2012, ABC and WNET, both broadcast television station owners in New York City, as well as other
content and broadcast operators, sought an injunction barring Aereo from transmitting broadcast television programs
to its subscribers while programs were airing on broadcast television. Complaint, Am. Broad. Cos., Inc. v. Aereo,
Inc., No. 12 Civ. 1540 (filed Mar. 1, 2012, S.D.N.Y.); Complaint, WNET v. Aereo, Inc., No. 12 Civ. 1543 (filed
Mar. 1, 2012, S.D.N.Y.). On July 11, 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Am. Broad Cos, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc., 874 F. Supp. 2d 373
(S.D.N.Y. 2012). The plaintiffs appealed to the Second Circuit. On April 1, 2013, the Second Circuit upheld the
district court’s decision. WNET v. Aereo, Inc., 712 F.3d 676 (2d Cir. 2013). On April 15, 2013, the plaintiffs
responded by asking the Second Circuit for a rehearing en banc, and on July 16, 2013 the Second Circuit denied the
plaintiffs’ request for rehearing. WNET v Aereo, Inc., 722 F.3d 500 (2nd Cir. 2013). At the time of the Supreme
Court decision, Aereo was facing broadcaster lawsuits in several jurisdictions, including Massachusetts and Utah.
See Jordan Crook, Aereo Loses in Supreme Court, Deemed Illegal, TechCrunch, June 25, 2014, at
http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/25/aereo-loses-in-supreme-court-deemed-illegal/ (visited Aug. 18, 2014). With the
Supreme Court’s Aereo decision, FilmOn, which was providing a similar service as Aereo, faces an uncertain legal
future. Content owners, including FOX and NBCUniversal, among others sued and received a preliminary
injunction against FilmOn in all jurisdictions – except the Second Circuit – prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling. See
Michael D. Berg, The Two Court Rulings Rocking Aereo, FilmOn, TVNEWSCHECK, Sept. 27, 2013, at
http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/70776/the-two-court-rulings-rocking-aereo-filmon (visited Aug. 18, 2014).
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Am. Broad. Cos., Inc. v. Aereo, Inc., No. 13-461, slip op. 1, 1 (U.S. June 25, 2014).