Hardly similar to Aereo. For one thing, the OTA receiver is in the home. For
another, no one is collecting monthly fees for the OTA-to-Internet service. I
would expect that the only possible sticking point would be that this IP stream
could also be received outside one's home. But then again, that's no more
harmful to broadcasters than someone outdoors picking up local TV stations
directly off the air.
Let's get real. OTA broadcasters benefit when more people see their ads. If a
service does not constitute a lost opportunity for the broadcasters, e.g.
someone getting rich reselling the broadcasters' content while not compensating
them (the Aereo example), then let's not all get too gun shy and timid.
Bert
------------------------------------------
http://www.tvtechnology.com/resources/0006/slings-airtv-expected-to-blend-ota--ott/279616
Sling’s AirTV Expected To Blend OTA + OTT
Is it an Aereo clone?
October 21, 2016
By Gary Arlen
BETHESDA, MD.—“AirTV,” an anticipated Echostar Sling Media service that will
deliver live local TV programs plus streamed video, is expected to debut
imminently, again. An Echostar spokeswoman declined to provide details or a
timetable regarding the hybrid product, which apparently treads where Aereo
legally stumbled in carriage of local broadcast TV channels. But she did not
disavow independently published reports about AirTV, which apparently combines
the IP-based “slinging” capacity of DISH’s SlingTV (an Echostar subsidiary) and
Echostar’s own Sling Media unit.
Stories about AirTV have been bruited around since “coming soon” offers for the
$149 receiver device began appearing on Amazon and B&H PhotoVideo websites
several months ago. Those listings are no longer visible on the ecommerce sites
or at Echostar’s own site. A company website that presumably explains the
antenna service—www.airtv.net/antennas— was behind a customer firewall at
deadline time.
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS?
Analysts expect that the AirTV receiver, which would connect to an OTA antenna
and home network, will handle broadcast tuning and also streaming content to be
directed to smart TVs and wireless devices in the home.
Increasing chatter about AirTV coincided with a DISH announcement in August
that it will support efforts by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the National
Association of Broadcasters, Antennas Direct and TVfreedom.org to give away
free OTA antennas. Although Echostar subsidiary DISH operates separately from
the Echostar AirTV venture, there is believed to be extensive coordination
between the two companies for this convergent venture.
“Complementing the pay-TV experience, which includes the increasing adoption of
streaming services like Sling TV... is good business and may drive a solution
to the otherwise compounding problem of ever-rising retransmission consent fees
for local TV,” said Warren Schlichting, DISH executive vice president of
marketing/programming/media sales.
SlingTV monthly pricing is about $20 for single-stream service, with additional
fees for larger tiers. Again, Echostar declined to indicate what a bundled
product would cost consumers.
A spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, which reveled at the
defeat of the Aereo venture two years ago, declined to comment about the AirTV
proposal.
Several telecom and electronics blogs posted sketchy reports about AirTV in
late summer, suggesting that the device works with an antenna and SlingTV’s app
to carry over-the-air local channels plus Sling TV’s over-the-top streaming
video. The stories speculated that the service would include a program guide
and possibly other add-ons, but not a digital video recorder. Dave Zatz, who
covers cord-cutting at his ZatzNotFunny site (http://zatznotfunny.com) observed
that a Spring debut may have been postponed because of limited retailer
interest in selling the $150 device. Later speculation focused on a September
launch. The Echostar spokeswoman repeatedly told TV Technology in late
September that “We don’t have anything to share at this time.”
AVOID AEREO PITFALLS
Kevin Goldberg, an attorney specializing in first amendment and intellectual
property issues at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, a Washington, D.C. law firm,
observed that the AirTV proposal seems to “work into the gray area of the Aereo
case.” In June 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that Aereo, a television streaming
service, violated copyright laws by capturing broadcast signals on miniature
antennas at a central location and then delivering them via the internet to
subscribers for a fee.
“The justices seemed sympathetic if the device had been entirely in the home,”
Goldberg told TV Technology. He speculated that Echostar may differentiate
itself by “setting it up entirely in the home” rather than at a remote
location, which was Aereo’s architecture.
“Transmitting signals into the subscriber’s home” may make the difference, he
explained. Goldberg also observed that a “live only” solution would likely
placate the Supreme Court’s apparent concern about the DVR record and playback
functions. While such programming could be “slung” using Sling’s AirTV set-top
box via IP to consumer viewing devices (such as a smart TV, smartphones or
tablets), the activity would be entirely run at the consumer’s premises. But he
fretted that “there may still be a problem... for out-of-home transmissions.”
“The biggest impediment is that the Copyright Office has been clear that it
will not treat internet systems as cable TV,” he said, adding that live sports
events would be a primary usage for this function.
Separately, in mid-September, SlingTV (which is run by DISH) added two more
ESPN-owned sports networks to its line-up: ESPN3, a multi-platform online
channel that carries games not usually transmitted on the primary ESPN
networks; and ESPN’s SEC Network, the Southeastern Conference college sports
channel. Earlier in the month, SlingTV picked up the streaming signals of six
regional feeds from the Pac-12 Networks, which collectively offer live coverage
of more than 800 sporting events.
Although this collection of college sports programming is large but limited,
the streamed channels provide a base of popular sports content.
LINING UP CONTENT
Sling has begun carrying about two dozen Fox Network Group channels earlier
this year, including local broadcast stations in 17 markets plus Fox regional
sports networks. At the time, a SlingTV official said he expected to add more
Fox affiliates later this year.
Analysts have pointed out that the deals with broadcasters may assuage DISH’s
frequent uneasy relationship with group owners during transmission consent
negotiations.
Marrying SlingTV to OTA signals already exists on an ad hoc basis. Antenna
maker Channel Master, which calls itself a “DVR for cord cutters,” integrated
SlingTV into its hardware earlier this year, using Echostar technology.
Melodie Virtue, a broadcast and internet attorney at the Garvey Schubert Barer
law firm in Washington, also agreed that compared to Aereo, AirTV “will have a
better argument if it’s confined to the home” and OTA signals are picked up
directly at the consumer premises. But she warned that, “It’s hard to know
without knowing how it’s configured.” She expects that, “whatever they’re doing
will get pushback from the networks.” But Virtue cautioned that networks and
local stations “have their own copyright fees to worry about.” She speculated
that AirTV might “need to get additional clearances” for its plan, but warned
that it is inappropriate to speculate about the structure until details are
presented.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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