NFL, Major League Baseball back broadcasters in fight vs Aereo

The National Football League and Major League Baseball have threatened to move all of their games to cable television if streaming startup Aereo is deemed legal, the professional sports leagues said in a new legal filing. In a "friend of the court" filing with the U.S. Supreme Court dated November 12, both leagues threw their support behind the broadcasters in a high-profile dispute with Aereo, which has drawn legal fire since it began in 2012. Aereo is a New York-based startup backed by Barry Diller's Internet and media company IAC InterActivecorp that uses personal TV antennas to give subscribers access to free over-the-air broadcast channels for a small fee. The lawsuits involving Aereo were being closely watched because its product is seen as a threat to the TV industry's ability to control subscription fees and generate advertising revenue, their two main sources of revenue.

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