(Reuters) - Aereo Inc, which is scheduled to roll out its new online TV service, said late on Thursday a group of broadcasters have filed two separate federal lawsuits against the company, citing likely violation of copyright laws.
Aereo said in a blog post the broadcasters have maintained that the company will infringe their copyrights by enabling consumers to access broadcast television via a remote antenna and digital video recorder.
Media reports on Thursday have cited broadcasters such as Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC as party to the lawsuits against Aereo, which is backed by billionaire Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. Diller is also part of Aereo's board.
On Feb 14, Aereo had announced a $20.5 million in Series A financing led by IAC.
Aereo, which is scheduled to launch its service on March 14 in New York City, will enable its subscribers to watch broadcast television online through digital streaming.
"Aereo does not believe that the broadcasters' position has any merit and it very much looks forward to a full and fair airing of the issues, the company said on its blog.
It would go ahead with the launch of the service as scheduled and looks for a prompt resolution of the lawsuits, Aereo added.
The law firms representing the broadcasters were not immediately available for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. (Reporting by Eileen Anupa Soreng and Sakthi Prasad; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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