Aereo at the Supreme Court: No matter what, broadcasters lose

An industry born of innovation faces a serious challenge from a new innovator

Philo Farnsworth, 1930
(Image credit: (Bettmann/CORBIS))

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case that threatens the television industry as we have known it for generations.

In American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo, the justices will decide whether an enterprising company that uses a raft of tiny antennas in a single location to transmit over-the-air TV programs to paying subscribers in that city may continue to do so without paying broadcasters or owners of the copyrighted shows. (Read more about how Aereo works here.)

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Andrew Cohen is a contributing editor at The Atlantic, a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, and a legal analyst for 60 Minutes and CBS Radio News. He has covered the law and justice beat since 1997 and was the 2012 winner of the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award for commentary.