US Government to Argue Against Aereo at Supreme Court Hearing

By Merrill Knox 

aereo antennaeThe U.S. Supreme Court has granted a request from the Deputy Solicitor General’s to appear during tomorrow’s Aereo hearing in support of the broadcasters, Deadline reports:

The high court has decided to let the Solicitor General’s office participate in the one-hour oral arguments session between Aereo and the broadcasters Tuesday in Washington D.C. “Motion of the Deputy Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED,” said the SCOTUS yesterday. The granting of the motion comes more than a month and a half after the federal government’s top legal office filed a brief supporting the broadcasters in their showdown with the Barry Diller-backed streaming service.

Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia continued to make his case this weekend in a series of interviews with The New York Times and CNN’s Brian Stelter. “The question is, do they want to be broadcasters? If you want to be a broadcaster, you are required to program in public interest in convenience free to air,” Kanojia told Stelter. “Anybody with an antenna can pick it up. I don’t understand why the location of the antenna changes that equation in any which way, shape or form.” Watch after the jump.

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We’ll be breaking down the arguments in the Aereo case at the TVNewser Show next Tuesday. Click here for more information and to register.

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