A bankruptcy judge Tuesday denied a proposal by defunct TV-streaming service Aereo Inc. to pay its remaining employees bonuses if the company is able to drum up at least $4 million from a sale of its technology, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The denial by Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane followed objections by a group of major broadcasters who insist any sale of Aereo’s assets will infringe on their copyrights and by a government watchdog who said the bonuses don’t seem to be tied to adequate incentives. “The $4 million figure is of concern to me...given that at one point these assets were valued at $20.5 million,” Judge Lane said in court yesterday after listing several reasons why the bonuses don’t pass legal muster. He did leave open the possibility of approving a revised plan if it more clearly laid out why the employees deserve the extra money.
