Imagine if a project that you had worked on for many years was suddenly sold for more than you invested into it. You would probably feel crushed. That's what the creators of the now-defunct streaming service Aereo likely feel right now after having to sell all their assets at a bankruptcy auction.
Aereo was an alternative service that let people attach a smaller antenna to their TV and stream or record their favorite television shows for less than $12 a month. Various courts ruled that Aereo's methods were illegal and used the airwaves in a way that was against protocol.
The company voluntarily closed itself in 2014. However, it had to do something with all the equipment, contacts and branding that it had invested into in its 3 years of existence. So, Aereo hosted a bankruptcy auction to sell all of their assets.
According to CNET, Aereo's trademarks and customer lists were all sold to TiVo, while Aereo's patents were sold to patent firm RPX. A lot of the equipment was sold to certain companies, including IT developer Alliance Technology. Aereo had apparently told its investors (who had invested over 100 million into the company) that they were going to be able to raise at least 32 million through the bankruptcy sale. However, the auction raised less than two million, which isn't enough to pay off Aereo's creditors.
Aereo's debtor counsel released a statement on their behalf, stating that "We are very disappointed with the results of the auction .....This has been a very difficult sales process and the results reflect that."
