The US Supreme Court ruling against Aereo on Wednesday is a major victory for TV broadcasters and a devastating loss for the Barry Diller-backed TV startup. Here’s a roundup of the other big winners and losers from the landmark decision:
Winners:
- TV networks and stations: Retransmission payments unaffected.
- NFL: The most valuable content on TV can stay on TV.
- Pay TV distributors: One less alternative for cord-cutters.
- Content providers: Pay-for-play still the precedent.
- Media ecosystem: One less competitor vying for viewers’ time (including Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon, etc.).
Losers:
- Aereo: Diller’s 2-year-old startup shuts it doors.
- Diller: The media mogul who likes to shake things up takes a hit to his reputation.
- TV advertisers: Fewer eyeballs in front of network TV.
- Aereo-like imitators: They’re toast, too, unless they can rely on different “new” technology.