Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • March 2020
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Aereo

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jacey Taft
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:15
ShareBar

Abstract

Aereo aimed to disrupt television program distribution by providing consumers access to local broadcast TV programming using offsite antennas, cloud-based DVRs, and an Internet connection. With Aereo, consumers could “cut the cord” and avoid the high cost of a cable TV subscription. Soon after launching service in NYC in 2012, Aereo was sued by broadcasters, who asserted that the startup was distributing their programs without permission — and without paying retransmission fees. After Federal District and Appeals Court victories for Aereo, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the startup in 2013, and it was shut down, after investing $97 million. The case looks at Aereo's journey and offers reflections from founder/CEO Chet Kanojia.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship; Failure; Lawsuits and Litigation; Internet; Media; United States

Citation

Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Jacey Taft. "Aereo." Harvard Business School Case 820-043, March 2020.
  • Educators

About The Author

Thomas R. Eisenmann

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • January 2021
    • Faculty Research

    YogaSmoga

    By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Olivia Graham
    • 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Determinants of Early-Stage Startup Performance: Survey Results

    By: Thomas R. Eisenmann
    • August 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Updating Dating

    By: Scott Duke Kominers, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alan Lam
More from the Authors
  • YogaSmoga By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Olivia Graham
  • Determinants of Early-Stage Startup Performance: Survey Results By: Thomas R. Eisenmann
  • Updating Dating By: Scott Duke Kominers, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alan Lam
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College