CEA hailed the Supreme Court’s decision to hear...

that watching free over-the-air TV via a remote service like Aereo “is somehow infringing ignores the law, precedent and their obligation to provide free over-the-air broadcasting,” Shapiro said. A ruling against Aereo would “undercut” the court’s Cablevision decision, “which has unleashed a wave of investment and innovation in the cloud computing industry,” he said: “Such a decision would lock in legacy technologies, and prevent viewers from taking advantage of mobile and other products that we already take for granted.” Shapiro thinks it’s “notable” that the Aereo case comes before the Supreme Court “as we celebrate” the court’s “landmark” Betamax decision, he said. In that Sony case, the court ruled to protect “consumer rights and innovation, as we urge them to do in Aereo,” he said. “Aereo is just the latest in a line of innovations that broadcasters claimed would kill their industry. Instead, cable TV, the Betamax and the DVR gave the broadcasters new revenue streams and new audiences.” Some TV networks have threatened to halt over-the-air broadcasting if the court rules in Aereo’s favor, Shapiro said. “If these networks do not believe that broadcasting is a viable business, we encourage them to relinquish their spectrum for wireless Internet and other productive uses. New technologies arrive, human progress moves forward, and society benefits. No industry has the right to have its existing model preserved unchanged forever. If the broadcasters wish to be a successful digital-age industry, they must embrace innovation, not litigation."