Aereo Denied License Request, But Hope Remains

Aereo, swept up in a legal battle earlier this year that it ultimately did not win, has been denied a license that would let it operate as a cable company. Aereo had requested this license during the late summer, and was told in August that it needed a court ruling on whether it could continue operations under this special designation. An injunction was put in place against the service today, but as the legal battle winds down towards a close, there is still a ray of hope for the service.

The ruling was made by U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who said that Aereo could not operate as a cable company due to its retransmission business model, which wasn't enough to qualify it. This is despite the majority-opinion of the Supreme Court that Aereo was like a cable company, giving it hope that it would succeed with its request.

Though this ruling is a severe blow to the company, which needed a favorable ruling if any significant reversal was to take place, all hope isn't lost. The cloud DVR aspect of the company's service could live on, though that too will depend on a future ruling. The judge did not accept broadcasters' requests to have the DVR functions included under her recent ruling.

The issue of whether Aereo's DVR functionality can live on won't be decided until a future ruling. Both Aereo and broadcasters' were told to prep final submissions on the matter, and that she'd decide on it at an unknown date in the near future.

SOURCE: GigaOm