After losing a Supreme Court decision to the broadcasters, streaming company Aereo sent a note to subscribers Saturday that it was suspending its service.
“As a result of that decision, our case has been returned to the lower Court. We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps,” company CEO Chet Kanojia said in the note. It said subscribers would stop having access to their cloud-based DVRs after 11:30 a.m. ET, and that users would be refunded their last paid month.
Aereo, backed by Barry Diller, offered customers online access to broadcast network programming through tiny, individual antennas hooked up to cloud based DVRs, But last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the service violated copyright laws.
The complete text of the letter is below:
A Letter to Our Consumers: Standing Together for Innovation, Progress and Technology – An Update on Aereo
“The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” --Charles Kettering, inventor, entrepreneur, innovator & philanthropist
A little over three years ago, our team embarked on a journey to improve the consumer television experience, using technology to create a smart, cloud-based television antenna consumers could use to access live over the air broadcast television.
On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision in favor of Aereo, dealing a massive setback to consumers.
As a result of that decision, our case has been returned to the lower Court. We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps. You will be able to access your cloud-based antenna and DVR only until 11:30 a.m. ET today.
All of our users will be refunded their last paid month. If you have questions about your account, please email support@aereo.com or tweet us @AereoSupport.
The spectrum that the broadcasters use to transmit over the air programming belongs to the American public and we believe you should have a right to access that live programming whether your antenna sits on the roof of your home, on top of your television or in the cloud.
On behalf of the entire team at Aereo, thank you for the outpouring of support. It has been staggering and we are so grateful for your emails, Tweets and Facebook posts. Keep your voices loud and sign up for updates at ProtectMyAntenna.org – our journey is far from done.
Yours truly,
Chet Kanojia
