Founded by Chet Kanojia and backed by Barry Diller’s IAC, Aereo has been drawing a lot of attention lately. The startup uses mini-antennae to capture video content from ABC, CBS, NBC (and other public broadcasting networks), and streams that content to its subscribers’ web-connected devices. A yearly subscription costs 17-cents a day.
Public broadcasters, who receive retransmission fees from cable providers in exchange for their copyrighted material, are crying foul. Claiming that the startup is making a mockery of copyright laws, the broadcast networks have taken the startup to court with the goal of shutting it down. Aereo’s CEO argues his company is actually just “putting a wedge” in video delivery by providing viewers with “free-to-air broadcast television” and is not in fact violating any copyright laws.
As the battle continues, Founder Stories host Chris Dixon caught up with Kanojia at the NASDAQ to get his insights on issues surrounding the controversy. Check out the video to hear their conversation and for more on the Aereo backstory, check out TechCrunch’s coverage here which includes Rip’s take on why Aereo has a shot at winning the battle.
Past episodes of Founder Stories featuring David Karp, Fred Wilson, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Stephen Kaufer and many other leaders are here.
Part II of this interview is coming up.