Given the new round of funding that Aereo is getting, along with an aggressive rollout plan, the genie may already be out of the bottle. Still, the Supreme Court has finally agreed to listen to the broadcasters case and decide the validity of the Aereo business. Of course the earliest the case will begin is April which gives Aereo another quarter to advance its OTT platform.
And should the Supreme Court deliver a ruling for or against the broadcasters' motion, I don't expect a massive change in the current license fee structure. If Aereo wins, consumers still need a strong broadband connection to receive the signals. And Aereo might still want to make deals with broadcasters and cable networks to get local advertising inventory. And cable operators will continue to pay broadcasters a license fee given the expense to build out antenna farms. If Aereo loses, broadcasters will still come up with streaming models to deliver linear feeds of their channels, working with cable operators on an authentication process.
So let the legal fees add up, the genie is already out of the bottle.
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