Aereo cannot continue the way it has been going, but instead of perishing like most Internet TV startups, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has stepped in with a solution that could change the TV landscape.

The argument put forward by Aereo, in a 180 turn to mimic a cable company, was that broadcasters shouldn't be allowed to not license content to Aereo - the same way they cannot refuse satellite TV.

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Wheeler believes Internet TV should be held to the same standard, meaning Aereo can continue on, if they become a cable TV company on the Internet. The FCC Chairman also suggested Aereo should be able to offer mix-and-match deals on networks, allowing customers to choose the right package for them.

The only problem with the new solution is that Aereo will not survive, at least, not financially. The Internet service only wants $8 per month from subscribers, but broadcasters will want a few dollars out of that every month for licensing, meaning Aereo will have to raise their fee significantly to facilitate the new licensing deals.

If Aereo wants to be on the same page as cable companies, but offer a la carte services, it still needs to pay broadcasters that might not be popular to license its content. This will end up costing Aereo more than it would a normal cable company, which add all the channels even if customers don't want them.

Even though these new rules for Internet TV might work for other startups, for Aereo it means either licensing a few broadcasters and having a limited pool of options, or licensing all of the broadcasters and hoping the service becomes insanely popular in the U.S.

Either way, Aereo cannot continue with the service it offers today, and will more than likely drop out of recognition in a few months, unless CEO Chet Kanojia has some brilliant plan to foil the cable companies, again.

TagsFCC, Aereo, Internet TV, cable TV, Chet Kanojia