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"Embattled Internet television streaming service Aereo has an unlikely friend in Congress: Sen. John McCain.\nMcCain introduced a bill last week offering a carrot-and-stick approach to stop television distributors from bundling unpopular channels with those in high demand. While McCain's bill has been getting plenty of attention, flying under the radar has been what might be dubbed his \"Aereo provision.\"\nAereo provides subscribers online access to live broadcast television by picking up broadcast networks' over-the-air signals on thousands of tiny antennae and transmitting them through the Internet. Subscribers pay Aereo a small monthly fee for the service, which is available in select cities with access expanding rapidly this year. \nAereo does not pay licensing fees to the networks, a fact which angered networks to the point that Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC and others sued Aereo in March of last year on copyright grounds. Aereo has won two court battles at the federal level in New York. Broadcasters are seeking further review of the latest decision, while Aereo recently won an injunction appeal allowing it to continue operating while the case is decided.\nThe major networks' anger towards Aereo has not been constrained to the courtroom. Chase Carey, President and COO of News Corporation, threatened last month to make Fox content subscription-only if Aereo wins in court. News Corp. later issued a more tempered statement from Carey.\nThat's where McCain's Aereo provision fits in. The Fox broadcast network operates on a license granted by the government. In exchange, Fox and other networks are expected to provide local news, weather and emergency alerts to consumers. McCain's bill is essentially a response to Carey's threat: stop providing your public service, and you'll lose your license to air your content on the broadcast airwaves.\n\"Senator McCain believes strongly that if broadcasters, who pay nothing for spectrum in exchange for public interest obligations, deviate from their statutory responsibilities, then the public deserves to have that spectrum auctioned with proceeds going to the federal treasury,\" wrote McCain's Communications Director Brian Rogers in an email to Mashable.\nSEE ALSO: Aereo Makes Cutting the Cord Even Easier, And Cheaper\n\nAereo CEO Chet Kanojia agreed Fox would be violating its agreement if it were to go subscription-only.\n\"The broadcasters got free spectrum to broadcast in the public interest in communities, they built up entire businesses based on that free band,\" Kanojia told Mashable. \"And to abandon 50 million-plus people just seems like they're breaking a deal.\"\nKanojia said Aereo was not lobbying for helpful legislation in Congress as it fights for survival in the courts.\n\"We're not out lobbying or out looking for any specific changes,\" said Kanojia. \"We think consumers will do that, because I think these companies have treated consumers like idiots, historically.\"\nNews. Corp spokesman Scott Grogin declined Mashable's request for comment. Gordon Smith, President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, said he \"wouldn't speak for Mr. Carey\" when asked about Fox's threat Tuesday morning during a subcommittee conference on McCain's bill. Smith, however, affrimed his own opposition to Aereo streaming networks' content without paying fees. \n\"We're not going to sit still for piracy,\" said Smith.\nImage via Allison Shelley/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/05/14/aereo-john-mccain/>