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ABC Television president Anne Sweeney calls Aereo 'opportunistic piracy'

ABC Television president Anne Sweeney calls Aereo 'opportunistic piracy'

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anne sweeney d11

Kara Swisher, I. Marlene King, and Anne Marley on stage at D11.

The tension between broadcast networks and Aereo is heating up here at the D11 conference in LA, as ABC Television president Anne Sweeney just said the internet television service is stealing content.

"I think Aereo is wrong, it is illegal, and it is opportunistic piracy," she said. "It's taking advantage of our content, of our creative community, and using it for their own gain. That's why we're prosecuting it, and we will continue to do so."

"I think Aereo is wrong, it is illegal, and it is opportunistic piracy."

Sweeney went on to say that she thinks traditional cable bundles offer consumers meaningful value — comments that came just an hour or so after Barry Diller said he was happy the networks had attacked Aereo so loudly, and that traditional cable bundles "made no sense."

Sweeney was joined by Pretty Little Liars producer I. Marlene King, who declined to offer her opinion of Aereo. "You know, she's my boss," she said to laughter when pressed by Swisher.