Aereo cuts dozens of staffers after court ruling

The upstart online television company Aereo is laying off dozens of staff members and closing its location in Boston. 

Since an October court ruling barred the company from rebroadcasting live television online, investors have pulled out, but the Aereo said Thursday it is not shutting down and some employees remain. 

{mosads}At least 43 employees were laid off from its Boston location and more in New York, though the company would not detail how many. 

“In an effort to reduce costs, we made the difficult decision to lay off some of our staff in Boston and New York,” spokeswoman Virginia Lam said in a statement. “We are continuing to conserve resources while we chart our path forward. We are grateful to our employees for their loyalty, hard work and dedication. This was a difficult, but necessary step in order to preserve the company.”

A letter describing the Boston closing was first obtained by a Boston Globe news site. The company is headquartered in New York. 

Aereo already halted operations earlier this year after the Supreme Court ruled that its business model violated copyright law by not paying rebroadcasting fees, something required of other cable and satellite companies. 

The company uses small antennas to pick up broadcast signals and stream them to people’s online devices for a subscription fee.

The company recently registered an in-house lobbyist as it makes a push to be classified like other cable and satellite providers.

The FCC is in the first stages of creating rules that would treat online television the same as cable or satellite. The move would open the door to companies like Aereo and give clear rules to cable and satellite companies wishing to make the transition online.