The case in question -- Cable News Network, et al., v. CSC Holdings - was originally brought by several audio-visual content creators against Cablevision, which has developed a service used to make numerous copies of copyrighted programming and re-transmit them to customers without licensing that delivery from copyright owners. A lower court found the service to be a violation of copyright law but an appeals court overturned that decision. An array of copyright holders offered briefs on the matter.

The SCOTUS Blog called the case "a modern sequel to the breakthrough for consumers that originated in 1976 when Sony Corp. introduced Betamax, allowing users to use time-shifting devices to record TV programs for later viewing." The Supreme Court, in Sony v. Universal City Studios in 1984, ruled that consumer time-shifting does not infringe copyright in the programs. Since then, there have been two generations of successor technology. The latest of those is at issue in the new case, the blog stated.