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In an attempt to force Aereo to shutter its local TV platform, Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS filed a petition at the U.S. Supreme Court Friday in which they argue copyright laws that have allowed Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) to launch its network DVR don't protect Aereo's platform.
The petition could be a game changer for Aereo, which has a made a business of selling access to local broadcast signals that it captures with arrays of dime-sized antennas, and converts to HTML5. Aereo stores programming on a network-based DVR, and transmits the content to customers who pay it $8 monthly to watch TV on mobile devices and Web browsers.
Broadcasters argue in the petition that Aereo designed its system to exploit what they described as a loophole in copyright law which has allowed Cablevision to launch its network DVR. In 2008, the Supreme Court declined to review an appellate...