The service, which launched last week only for programming in the New York market, was promptly sued by broadcasters. Aereo, backed by former broadcast executive and billionaire, Barry Diller counter-sued. Aereo then added a second countersuit filing yesterday citing News Corp’s Fox, the Public Broadcasting System, and Univision. Additionally, the latest suit names WPIX/Channel 11 and WNET/Channel 13 as defendants. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

This follows the path Aereo took last week against the Walt Disney Co.’s ABC, CBS, and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, and NBC’s Telemundo.

Earlier in the month, broadcasters sought an injunction against Aereo to stop the transmitting of their programming on phones, tablets, and other devices.

Aereo is asking for a court declaration insisting that it’s not infringing on the broadcasters’ copyrights.

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Aereo recently debuted its streaming TV service in New York, with plans to roll it out to over 75 additional markets within a year.

As Aereo faces multiple copyright lawsuits from the broadcasting companies that own TV stations in New York, we took the service for a test drive to see what all the fuss is about (video above).

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“This service is based on the illegal use of our content. Beyond that, we believe the complaint speaks for itself.”

WABC president and general manager Dave Davis tells FishbowlNY that based on two lawsuits, he wasn’t able to comment.

“It’s in the lawyers hands,” Davis admits.  

After the broadcast networks filed a suit against Aereo, the new company retaliated with a countersuit. Aereo contends that its service does not infringe on broadcasters’ copyrights since it only streams content that viewers are legally entitled to access via satellite.

Aereo works as a Web-based, mobile device TV product, offering over-the-air programs with a 90-day free trial for subscribers, only on New York stations at this point. It’s $12 a month after that.

Despite the fight with broadcasters, initial reviews for Aereo have been favorable.

Technologyreview.com writes, “Overall, despite my limited ability to use the service, and my encounters with a few glitches, using Aereo was an exciting experience.”

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A number of New York television stations are up in arms about Aereo, a startup that in a nutshell, lets consumers access network television on web-enabled devices and internet TV platforms. Does that mean you can catch the game on your phone? Game changer indeed. One that Barry Diller of IAC, which led the startup’s most recent round of funding, saw value in.

The problem: Subscribers to Aereo would have access to all major networks including CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, CW, and PBS and other local channels and these networks weren’t too happy with this technological solution. They banded together and filed two lawsuits that seek to stop the product’s forthcoming March 14 release in addition to monetary damages, reports the New York Times.

“This case is not about stifling new video distribution technologies,” said the owners of Fox, CW, Univision, and PBS in a statement, “but about stopping a company from violating our copyrights and redistributing our television programming without permission or compensation.”

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