Barry Diller's IAC may have taken a write-down on Aereo, but he apparently hasn't turned the lights out at the struggling startup.
But as Fortune reports, neither Diller or any of the other investors who plunged more than $100 million into the New York-based SVOD company have asked it to cease operations, lay off staff or sell equipment. The company's staff of 110 full-time employees remains intact, the publication says, with some workers being given different roles.
Aereo's warehouse remains in place as well, Fortune reports.
The company ceased operations in late June, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it can't take free over-the-air broadcast signals and stream them to the IP devices of consumers.
"There hasn't been a new investment since the ruling, but we don't think we're throwing good money after bad by not closing up and moving on," says Dan Nova, a partner with early Aereo investor Highland Capital Partners, told Fortune. "The ruling itself and the wording of the ruling created several Plan Bs that wasn't necessarily there before, so we feel we have a number of cards still to turn over."
Aereo and its lawyers were due back in a Manhattan federal court Wednesday, with Judge Alison Nathan set to rule on a motion put forth by the plaintiffs, major broadcast networks, to put an injunction on Aereo's ability to transmit their signals to IP devices.
Late last week, Aereo petitioned the Federal Communications Commission, asking to be reclassified as a multichannel video programming network (MVPD), which would entitle it to negotiate with broadcasters for retransmission licenses.
For more:
- read this Fortune story
- read this MediaPost story
Related links:
Aereo asks FCC for pay-TV operator status
Aereo urges FCC to expand MVPD definition, retrans rules
Rumor mill: Aereo-like platforms may be given program licensing rights by FCC
Multiscreen provider Nimble TV expands to Chicago, draws scrutiny from pay-TV lawyers
Judge strikes down Aereo's 'emergency' attempt to resume service
CBS' Moonves: Aereo never tried to work with us