• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 4, 2013

Court decision after court decision keeps going the way of Aereo, the renegade Internet-delivered service offering over-the-air TV stations to consumers at nominal cost. Think of your favorite nervous broadcaster.

Even worse, one U.S. District Court judge said recently that broadcasters hadn’t “demonstrated a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits” to justify an injunction against Aereo. No doubt all this is probably headed for the Supreme Court, though that process will take a few years.

Now Time Warner Cable and DirecTV are mulling the idea that they could also provide mini “digital antennas” for consumers looking for cheaper over-the-air service.

Couple this with the fact that traditional TV distributors -- cable, satellite and telco -- are increasingly getting hurt by broadcasters seeking premium retransmission fees.

Some consumers must be figuring that an Aereo-type service -- or just an over-the-air antenna -- plus a Netflix or Hulu Plus account will give them all the TV they need.

An Aereo filing notes that U.S. law already entitles consumers to pick up local TV broadcasts on the public airwaves using individual antennas, to copy those broadcasts for their own personal use and to play back those recordings.

Right now the likes of Time Warner or DirecTV don’t want to upset the existing big media boat  -- especially those monthly TV packages that can bring in $80 to $125 a month or more.

Broadcasters believe there is major copyright infringement going on from the likes of Aereo — and that they are entitled to retransmission fees.

But technology has pulled the rug out from under them -- because for years consumers have been able to access broadcast networks for free.

We come now to that most-loved, but now quaint phrase: public airwaves.

Funky-looking roof antennas that cost some money were the tools for grabbing those signals way back when. Now some would like to go back to those days - opting for a new digital type of antenna technology to get the same results.

Cable operators, satellite distributors and telco companies haven’t really said much about Aereo up to this point. No doubt Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and others have their bases covered should there be drastic changes in the way the industry operates.

Nerves -- from media executives -- will continue to bounce around the airwaves.