MUMBAI: The fight between the US broadcasters like Fox and Barry Diller-backed Aereo is likely to get hotter. There is possibility of the broadcasters could appeal to the US Congress.

Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia has been quoted in reports saying that in the past broadcasters have gone to Congress. Earlier a US court of appeals had dismissed a plea by broadcasters against Aereo.

Aereo uses tiny antennas to pick up free over-the-air broadcast television signals and then transmits the video to its customers over the Internet. News Corp COO Chase Carey has threatened to make Fox pay on cable.

Right now Aereo is only in New York but the plan is to expand to several more cities. Aereo‘s premium subscription plan costs $12 a month.

The broadcasters want Aereo to pay to rebroadcast their signals, just like cable and satellite providers already do. Broadcast transmission fees are now a multi-billion dollar business. If Aereo can access content for free then cable companies that also retransmit signals might ask for the fee to be removed or reduced.

Of course Aereo is another case of the disruptive influence of the Internet and the impact it is having on business models and revenue streams.