Summer TV Drama Is Set in D.C. as Broadcasters Await Aereo Rule
This article is for subscribers only.
Television executive Marci Burdick is gripped by a drama that isn’t appearing on her company’s CBS affiliate in South Bend, Indiana: She’s watching battles in Washington that figure to reshape the broadcast industry.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide as early as tomorrow whether Aereo Inc. can use coin-sized antennas to capture TV signals and sell them over the Internet -- without paying broadcasters such as Burdick’s closely held Schurz Communications Inc. A decision for Aereo might lead cable and satellite companies to stop paying $4 billion a year to station owners, too.