NBC Universal, ABC, CBS and Fox requested an injunction against Alki David’s Aereokiller (it used to be BarryDriller.com until Aereo’s Barry Diller filed suit) in federal court in LA.
Months after a Manhattan judge rejected a similar bid to shutter Aereo, which also streams local television channels over the internet, the networks similarly claim that the service disrupts their ability to negotiate retransmission contracts and earn ad revenue from the shows that are rebroadcast online.
Aereokiller responded by saying it should be exempt from the injunction after a federal court in New York ruled in favor of Aereo in a similar suit in July.
“Aereokiller’s copyright infringement must be enjoined to prevent irreparable injury to Plaintiffs,” The Wrap quoted the suit as saying. “Aereokiller’s unauthorized streaming of Plaintiffs’ programming rips that control from Plaintiffs, threatens their core business models, destroys their leverage in critical distribution negotiations, harms their ability to expand into new markets and interferes with Plaintiffs’ goodwill with licensed distributors and advertisers.”
The service, originally launched on BarryDriller.com, later moved to FilmOn and launched the Aereokiller app on Android and other mobile platforms.
