DILLER BEATS THE NETWORKS — FOR NOW

Barry Diller won a major battle against the major broadcast networks on Wednesday when a federal judge declined to issue an injunction that would block his Aereo system from operating. “Now we can really begin telling television consumers they have an alternative,” the media veteran said in a statement. In its initial roll-out in New York, Aereo provides a bank of tiny antennas which capture programs from over-the-air broadcasters and then stream them to customers online. The networks claim that the system violates their copyright ownership. In her ruling, Judge Alison Nathan cited a decision in a case involving a Cablevision system that allows customers to use its remote recorders to make copies of television programs. She agreed that Aereo would likely harm their business but that an injunction would ruin Aereo’s. Broadcasters immediately issued statements vowing to appeal the decision. “This case is not over by a long shot,” said CBS.