DirectTV And Time Warner Cable Might Stream Live TV Over The Internet Just Like Aereo

As we previously reported, cable companies have been watching and rooting for Aereo, the startup that captures live over-air television broadcast with antennas and streams them over the Internet.

It charges subscribers $8 a month.

Broadcasters have been trying to stop the three-year-old startup by suing it, so far to no avail. (It just won another legal battle earlier this month in Boston, reports Forbes J.J. Colao.) However, Aereo isn't completely in the clear. It's still fending off lawsuits from CBS and other media companies.

That hasn't stopped it. Aereo is now available in 7 cities with plans to launch in another 20.

Cable and satellite providers are watching closely. DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, and Charter Communications are all currently considering using technology similar to Aereo's and launching a similar service, reports Bloomberg's Andy Fixmer, Alex Sherman & Jonathan Erlichman.

If Aereo is found to be legal, cable and TV providers think its business model might be a way around billions of dollars in fees they pay every year to broadcasters, Bloomberg reports.

It's a big showdown. Some broadcasters, like Fox COO Chase Carey warned in April that if Aereo wins Fox might stop broadcasting over-the-air altogether.