News Corp threatens to make Fox a pay channel to prevent Aereo airing it

MUMBAI: The issue over Barry Diller-backed Aereo airing TV channels without giving compensation threatens to snowball into a major issue, with News Corp COO Chase Carey saying the media conglomerate is exploring options including going pay.

News Corp will take Fox off the air and make it a cable channel unless American courts stop Internet company Aereo from retransmitting shows like "The Simpsons" without the network?s permission.

A US Appeals Court last week rejected a plea by broadcasters to shut down Aereo. Coming on the front foot, Carey said News Corp will not just sit idle and allow content to be actively stolen. "It is clear that the broadcast business needs a dual revenue stream from both ads and subscription to be viable. We simply cannot provide the type of quality sports, news, and entertainment content that we do from an ad-supported only business model. We have no choice but to develop business solutions that ensure we continue to remain in the driver?s seat of our own destiny. One option could be converting the Fox broadcast network to a pay channel, which we would do in collaboration with both our content partners and affiliates.?

He reiterated that News Corp has a long-standing commitment to the broadcast television business, and to delivering the highest-quality entertainment, sports and news programming to viewers on a localised basis. "We are committed to broadcasting under a business model where programmers receive fair compensation from parties that want to redistribute our product while continuing to make our product available for free to individual consumers that want to access our signal.?

Carey added: ?We believe that Aereo is pirating our broadcast signal. We will continue to aggressively pursue our rights in the courts, as well as pursue all relevant political avenues, and we believe we will prevail.