James Tuthill writes for Corporate Counsel, (free membership required) June 30, 2014
The court, as is typical with many judicial decisions, barely mentions the real issue: the huge sums of money broadcasters receive from cable and satellite companies to “retransmit” the broadcasters’ programming to cable and satellite subscribers, and the threat Aereo presented to that business model. These “retransmission” fees continue to put upward pressure on cable rates, and they are a significant reason why cable rate increases continue to exceed inflation.