Hearst's Boston TV station sued Aereo this week, alleging the online video company is violating copyright law by retransmitting WCVB-TV Boston's signal without permission. It asked a federal judge to block Aereo from distributing the signals while the case plays out.
The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, is the latest in a series of challenges to the legality of Aereo's service. Aereo has been deploying an online-video and remote-DVR service that leases subscribers small antennas and DVRs, allowing them to access local broadcast TV programming that those antennas receive on various Internet-connected devices.
Aereo has argued its operations are allowed under the same copyright law ruling that lets Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) offer a remote-DVR service to its subscribers. Broadcasters have disagreed.
Aereo had sued CBS (NYSE: CBS) in May in a New York federal court, where another challenge to its business is playing out, in an attempt to prevent similar cases from being litigated in different courthouses around the country. That case remains pending.
Hearst argued Aereo cannot be allowed to continue operating during the litigation.
"Aereo's clear copyright violations put WCVB's entire business model at risk and undermine a regulatory regime carefully constructed by Congress," it said.
For more:
- Bloomberg had this report
- read Hearst's arguments to the court here
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