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A couple of weeks ago, HBO announced that it would begin offering an over-the-top digital streaming subscription service in 2015 circumventing the cable bundle package where it is usually available exclusively.  They did not announce the price, but it will presumably be in the $7-9 per month Hulu/Netflix range. Not to be outdone, the CBS network announced the next day that it would be rolling out a similar subscription service called CBS All Access. For $5.99/month, subscribers have access to streaming on-demand most CBS shows, including CBS Classics like Star Trek and Twin Peaks, and live-viewing via mobile and desktop in 14 markets. With CBS' model, only their classics are ad-free. 

Any day now* the Supreme Court will be ruling on the decision about the over-the-air/cloud DVR company Aereo. (Read my original assessment of Aereo that I wrote last fall here). At issue is whether Aereo should have to pay retransmission fees to the broadcasters for their content, like most cable companies, or if what they are supplying is simply a technological service for consumers, shifting the digital antenna from their roof to the cloud. We are watching this case because we believe a lot is at stake, for the advertising industry, cable consumers, and the television ecosystem in general. 

You may have heard about this little company called Aereo TV that has recently shaken the traditional broadcast industry up. In a nutshell, they offer broadcast television streaming live online or devices through a digital antenna via a low monthly subscription a la Hulu Plus and Netflix. They also have a DVR built in. But the way that they do this is what has been controversial. Through what many broadcast networks deem a legal loophole, Aereo captures the over-the-air signal of the main networks and then retransmit those free signals to consumers without paying the networks for that content. Traditionally retransmitters of that content either have to have a license or at least pay the networks for that content, so the networks say the same rules should apply for Aereo. After all Aereo is making money off of their content - they should be reimbursed, right? It's had Les Moonves of CBS up in arms and even caused Fox to threaten to become a cable channel if Aereo was allowed to stay in business.