Barry Diller's TV Initiative Aereo Opts for Bankruptcy

A couple of years ago, Barry Diller wanted to break into the video content distribution game. His gimmick was Aereo, a firm which promised streaming TV for gadgets. His trick was to use micro-antennae to capture cable television signals and send them to Aereo users. (The blog techcrunch.com has a useful overview of this initiative.) The cable barons fought back via litigation and won their case before the US Supreme Court.

Recently, Aereo declared a financial no mas and declared bankruptcy. The AP story appears in siliconvalley.com.

The firm is continuing to tout the value of its Internet recording technology, and try to snatch financial victory from legal defeat.

Barry Diller Launches "Rabbit Ears" Internet TV Startup

Barry Diller (photo from Wikipedia)

Barry Diller, the iron fist inside what Robin Williams once characterized as "the mauve glove," has returned to the TV fray. His new venture is called Aereo. Its idea is that consumers will pay a minimum amount of money per month to get A-list TV piped into their computers and devices via a rabbit ears-style TV antenna. The launch has currently been confined to Brooklyn.

The major content providers and networks immediately and unsurprisingly sued Diller's enterprise, as reported by PC Magazine.

Meanwhile, Diller's actions are part of heightened interest among major players in TV. Apple TV's new product information was recently released, though little noted, as the new iPad announcement stole any thunder Apple TV might have possessed. Intel wants to enter the television game. Google and Amazon have both lightly put their footprints on TV's sandy beach. The New York Times has something called NYT Television. Who would have thought the same medium that brings you Snooki, Fox News, and a 24-hour parade of chefs would be the next intellectual/tech frontier?