Aereo may have been shuttered by the federal court but not for long. The embattled cord-cutting startup has found a new ally in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is proposing to revise its rules on multi-channel video programing distributors (MVPDs) to allow services such as Aereo, which delivers over-the-air television programming via the Internet, and other video providers with different transmission routes, to be classified as cable providers. In a blog post, Wheeler said it is high time to remove the shackles of 20th-century rules and move over to accommodating 21st-century technology.
Wheeler referred to the satellite industry, which was mandated by Congress in 1992 to be allowed access to cable channels. This, Wheeler said, opened the road for all sorts of competition to flourish, and a similar mandate on Aereo and other video providers can provide consumers with different tastes and preferences with a variety of choices for multichannel video packages.
"I am proposing to extend the same concept to the providers of linear, Internet-based services; to encourage new video alternatives by opening up access to content previously locked on cable channels," he said.
Wheeler is proposing the FCC redefine the term MVPD so that it becomes "technology neutral" and encompasses all video providers that use the Internet and other technologies to give them the same access to cable programming. The inclusion of other providers into the term will also give them the ability to negotiate fair deals with broadcasters to license their content.
Aereo, which met with top FCC officials to emphasize this point, lauded Wheeler's proposal, saying that the expansion of the definition of MVPDs to include it and other video providers will be beneficial to the video programming industry as it encourages competition.
"The way people consume television is rapidly changing and our laws and regulations have not kept pace," says Aereo founder and CEO Chet Kanojia on Facebook. "The FCC recognizes that when competition flourishes, consumers win."
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court nearly sounded the death knell for Aereo, which it said operated like a cable company and infringed upon the copyrights of major broadcasters by airing cable programming over the Internet without paying licensing fees to broadcasters.
This was the ruling on which U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan based her order to grant a request by the broadcasters asking for a temporary injunction against Aereo. The judge also dismissed Aereo's argument that it should be granted a compulsory license to operate as a cable company, saying the startup was "doing its best to make lemonade out of lemons."
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) says it "welcomes" new platforms that allow for the legal distribution of programming content.
"We look forward to engaging with the FCC to ensure that this new competition enhances rather than undermines localism," stated NAB.
