CBS chief: I'll yank my network off the air

CBS chief: I'll yank my network off the air

CEO threatens to pull broadcasts

http://www.wnd.com/2014/03/cbs-chief-ill-take-network-off-the-air

The head of CBS is threatening to take his top-rated network off the air and instead offer TV programs directly to viewers on the Internet.

Tuesday’s comments from CEO Leslie Moonves center on the fight involving major broadcasters who are challenging Aereo’s use of their broadcast signals without paying for them. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case in April.

“If there are systems out there that try to hurt us, then we could go to OTT,” Moonves said.

OTT is an abbreviation for “over the top,” which in broadcast jargon means providing television over the Internet, outside of a pay TV subscription.

“If Aereo should work, if they should win, which we don’t think is going to happen, we could go OTT with CBS,” Moonves said.

“If the government wants to give them permission to steal our signal, then we will come up with some other way to get them our content and so get paid for it,” he added.

Les Moonves, CEO of CBS (image courtesy CNBC)

Aereo is a tiny startup backed by billionaire Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp, which uses an antenna and remote DVR technology to let subscribers watch live, local over-the-air TV, without making any payments to the program creators.

This is not the first time Moonves and other executives have raised the possibility of going off the air and instead using cable subscriptions if Aereo is given the legal green light.

“However, such a move would be complicated by implications of its own,” notes Joan Solsman of CNET News.

“The government, for example, granted broadcasters valuable segments of radio-frequency spectrum to carry their signals decades ago, provided that they also offer programming that serves the common good. Moving programming off the airwaves could call into question their hold on spectrum they’re using less and less.”

Meanwhile, CNET says Aereo’s Supreme Court case remains a question mark.

“Last month, a U.S. district court granted the first preliminary injunction against Aereo out of the patchwork of lawsuits against the company, handing broadcasters their first clear legal win ahead of their Supreme Court appearance,” said Solsman.

“The court’s decision will affect Utah, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Of the 11 cities where Aereo currently operates, Salt Lake City and Denver fall under the decision’s scope.

“Similar preliminary injunctions have been denied in the New York-based Second Circuit court of appeals and in Boston, something Aereo has touted as support for its legal status as it heads to the country’s highest court.”

CBS

Leslie Moonves is the president & CEO & director for CBS, and a trustee at the Paley Center for Media.

Note: William S. Paley was the chairman for CBS, and the founder of the Paley Center for Media.

Howard Stringer was the president for CBS, and is a trustee at the Paley Center for Media.

Patricia E. Mitchell is the president & CEO for the Paley Center for Media, and the vice chair for the Sundance Institute.

Robert Redford is the founder & president for the Sundance Institute, and a partner at the Sundance Channel.

Sundance Channel is a partner at CBS.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Sundance Institute, the International Rescue Committee, the Aspen Institute (think tank), the Urban Institute (think tank), the Robin Hood Foundation, and the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Henry A. Kissinger is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, a trustee at the Paley Center for Media, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Martin London was an attorney for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the attorney for CBS.

Mary M. Boies is a director at the International Rescue Committee, and was the VP for CBS.

Elinor Bunin Munroe was a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a senior designer for CBS.

Joseph A. Califano Jr. is a life trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank), and a director at CBS.

Douglas P. Morris is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation, and a director at CBS.

Michael H. Jordan is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the chairman & CEO for CBS.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was director at CBS.

Kathleen Brown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the California state government governor Jerry Brown’s sister, and married to Van Gordon Sauter.

Van Gordon Sauter is married to Kathleen Brown, and was the president of CBS.

Sundance Channel is a partner at CBS.

Robert Redford is a partner at the Sundance Channel, and the founder & president for the Sundance Institute.

Patricia E. Mitchell is the vice chair for the Sundance Institute, and the president & CEO for the Paley Center for Media.

Howard Stringer is a trustee at the Paley Center for Media, and was the president for CBS.

William S. Paley was the founder of the Paley Center for Media, and the chairman for CBS.

Leslie Moonves is a trustee at the Paley Center for Media, and the president & CEO & director for CBS.