aereo

Web media: The 5 biggest stories of 2012

Fun, fun, fun!

That's what digital movies, music, and books are supposed to be about. But for the people who create and sell the stuff, it's been all crumbs, crumbs, crumbs.

The past year was another tough one for the sale of entertainment media on the Web. The irony is that as more entertainment fare is sold online, the less profitable the businesses become.

Few, if any, online music services are profitable. In Web movie distribution, download sales are dismal. Even Netflix, the Web's top video rental service, saw a slow down in the rate it added … Read more

Share Karma's Wi-Fi, get free data

Friday's CNET Update is counting megabytes:

Today's tech news roundup looks at the Karma hotspot, which rewards owners with free data for sharing access with others. Karma gives 100 megabytes of data for every person who taps into the network, plus the owner gets another 100 megabytes that do not expire. Adding more data costs $14 for 1 gigabyte. Frequent travelers might find Karma appealing. FreedomPop is offering a similar concept for home broadband, giving free data every month and adding more to those that recommend friends.

Another startup wants to change how we watch broadcast television. Aereo … Read more

Aereo streaming joins forces with Bloomberg TV

Despite major TV networks claiming Aereo's illegitimacy, the streaming service now has an official cable TV partner: Bloomberg.

Aereo struck a deal with Bloomberg TV today to allow streaming news, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reportedly, Aereo will pay Bloomberg TV for its content, but the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We believe that our members will see deep value adding in Bloomberg Television as their 'go-to' source for financial news," Aereo founder Chet Kanojia said in a statement, according to the Journal. While Bloomberg TV announced that it was "pleased to have … Read more

Appellate judge compares Aereo's antennas to tax dodge

NEW YORK -- A federal appeal's court here sounded highly doubtful of Aereo's claims that by using thousands of tiny Internet-connected antennas to deliver live TV to customers, the company had successfully sidestepped copyright infractions.

Aereo is the Barry Diller-backed Internet video service that currently provides users in New York with live TV. For $12 a month, Aereo will connect subscribers, via the Web, to a tiny antenna that captures over-the-air TV signals and enables them to watch TV on their PC. Aereo managers don't pay a dime to access these shows.

They should, according to the … Read more

EFF: TV networks use 'craven' tactics against streaming service

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is backing startup Aereo, which is embroiled in court with broadcasters and television networks over copyright issues.

The digital rights group urged a federal appeals court on Friday to throw out the case, which is designed to shut down Aereo's streaming services. Aereo offers consumers the means to stream broadcast television, sent through the Internet to a customer's devices via tiny antennas currently hosted on a Brooklyn rooftop. Each "rabbit ear" is assigned to an individual user, who can then choose which signals should be transmitted to mobile devices.

Broadcasters and television … Read more

Amazon pushes Kindles for classrooms

Wednesday's CNET Update is syncing your reading assignment:

Amazon has launched a way for teachers to easily push out reading assignments through a Kindle. Today's tech news roundup looks at Whispercast, which allows organizations to manage books and documents synced to a group of Kindle accounts. Everyone the group doesn't need to own a Kindle, but they do need a device with a Kindle app. Classrooms can also order Kindles with custom profiles that block Web browsing or disable purchasing.

In other news, Best Buy is joining retailers like Barnes & Noble and Toys "R" … Read more

Aereo TV streaming expands to major Web browsers

Watching live TV on your computer just got a lot easier.

New York-based startup Aereo today said its service has been expanded to all major Web browsers, including Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. Previously, its service was limited to Apple devices and Roku's Internet-connected boxes.

"The vast majority of American households own laptop or desktop computers -- it's only natural that we expand the universe of Internet browsers that can access Aereo," Chief Executive Chet Kanojia said in a press release. "More flexibility, more choice, and more devices mean a better overall … Read more

Cablevision to Aereo: Don't compare your case to ours

Cablevision, a cable company that might have been a natural ally to Aereo, has instead come out against the fledgling Internet TV service.

Cablevision, the country's eighth largest cable provider, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court in New York on Friday and told the court that the landmark legal ruling it won in 2008 shouldn't protect Aereo from the charges of copyright violation brought against it by a group of some of the nation's biggest TV broadcasters.

Aereo is the Barry Diller-backed Web video service that uses dime-size TV antennas to capture over-the-air … Read more

Fox sues upstart TV streaming service BarryDriller.com

Fox has filed a lawsuit against another TV streaming service, alleging that BarryDriller.com is violating its copyrights by retransmitting the programming of one if its affiliates.

The network filed a lawsuit against the upstart service Friday in Los Angeles, claiming BarryDriller.com violates its right of public performance by streaming the signal of L.A. affiliate KTTV to BarryDriller.com subscribers without authorization, according to a Variety report. The site, which just launched this week, streams New York channel programming, as well as that of KTTV-DT, to subscribers for $5.95 a month.

"No amount of technological gimmickry … Read more