Aereo tries to make case to Supreme Court. HBO sells to Amazon
After the coffee. Before analyzing the Redskins’ 2014 schedule.
The Skinny: Sorry we are a little late today. Had to jump on the HBO/Amazon story and make sure that was in our roundup. Other stories include recaps of Aereo’s big day at the Supreme Court and Comcast and Charter are trying to work on a deal to swap and sell some cable systems.
Daily Dose: The NFL will unveil its fall schedule this evening. Things to watch for will be what games CBS gets for its new Thursday package. When all the Thursday night games were on the NFL Network, the matchups were not always the most exciting. The NFL is likely to give CBS sexier games in the hopes of increasing the value of the package down the road.
The defense rests. Aereo, the start-up that streams local TV stations via the Internet, defended its service before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Broadcasters, which get no compensation for Aereo’s service, which costs consumers between $8 and $12 a month, argued alongside government lawyers that the company is violating copyright laws. One should never try to figure out which way the court is leaning based on what questions were asked. Some questions seemed to favor broadcasters but at the same time the court also had concerns about a ruling that could have unintended consequence of affecting cloud technology. Coverage and analysis from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Re/Code.
ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. HBO, which in the past has said it wouldn’t sell episodes of its shows to a subscription service such as Netflix, did an about face. No, it’s not selling reruns to Netflix. It’s selling reruns to Netflix rival Amazon Prime Instant Video. Shows that Amazon will have include “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” as well as “Girls” and “Veep.” HBO already had a business relationship with Amazon, which sells HBO DVDs. Also, the traditional rerun market for HBO content is drying up and streaming services are hungry for shows. Details from the Los Angeles Times.
Charting a new course. As expected, it is looking like Charter Communications will get something out of Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Comcast has already said it will spinoff cable systems reaching about 3 million subscribers to appease concerns about the potential size of the merged company. Charter could swap some of its systems as well, including its Los Angeles holdings. If that happens it is good news for Dodger fans because Comcast would then carry SportsNet LA. More from the Wall Street Journal.
Dish without a satellite dish. Satellite broadcaster Dish Network hopes to have a new low-cost, Internet-delivered programming service ready to offer consumers this summer, according to Bloomberg. Dish already reached a deal to offer Disney-owned networks. The challenge for this service will be to be cheap enough to appeal to folks who otherwise wouldn’t subscribe to pay-TV while at the same time having enough compelling programming to make it worthwhile. No one has figured out how to do this yet.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: If you live in Santa Clarita and see Clint Eastwood, resist the urge to tell him to get off your lawn. He’s just directing his new movie “American Sniper” starring Bradley Cooper.
Follow me on Twitter to get to the bottom of it all. @JBFlint.
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