Tech initiatives to shake up traditional TV model face brutal fights

Two fledgling technologies could dramatically reshape the $60 billion-a-year television broadcast industry as they challenge the business model that has helped keep broadcasters on the lucrative end of the media spectrum.

On April 1, a U.S. appeals court rejected a petition by the major broadcasters including Comcast's NBC, News Corp's FOX, Disney's ABC and CBS, to stop a service called Aereo, which offers a cut-rate TV subscription for consumers by capturing broadcast signals over thousands of antennas at one time. It was the second time in recent months that TV broadcasters failed to block a new technology that undercuts revenue they generate for their television shows. In November, a California court struck down Fox's request to ban Dish Network's ad-eliminating video recording device called the Hopper. The two services strike at the heart of the TV broadcast model.