Aereo Hits NYC Suburbs in Widening Service to 19 Million People
Legally Challenged Internet TV Startup Also Debuts Outdoor Ad Campaign
in Big Apple
By: Todd Spangler
Multichannel News
Feb 25 2013 - 10:00am
http://www.multichannel.com/ott/aereo-hits-nyc-suburbs-widening-service-19-million-people/141883
Aereo -- the Internet TV startup that major broadcasters accuse of
illegally retransmitting their content -- announced Monday that it has
decided to make its service available to 19 million people living in the
New York City metropolitan region.
The company also kicked off its first advertising campaign, which shuns
TV ads in favor of outdoor advertising including billboards and
phone-kiosk posters. Aereo markets itself as an alternative to cable,
satellite or telco TV, with the tagline "No Cable Required."
The expanded New York coverage includes 29 counties across New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, according to the company.
Previously, Aereo was only available to residents of the five boroughs
of New York City proper. In January, Aereo announced its intention to
expand to 22 additional markets this year.
According to an Aereo spokesman the company has expanded to suburban New
York areas after it added additional capacity.
“Creating more choice and a competitive marketplace is a good thing for
consumers,” Aereo founded and CEO Chet Kanojia said in a statement.
The New York-based company, whose backers include IAC's Barry Diller,
offers live and DVR access to 30 local broadcast TV channels delivered
over the Internet to various devices in the New York area. In addition,
Bloomberg Television currently is available to Aereo's paying users for
no additional charge.
Aereo’s first advertising campaign is debuting this week on New York
City billboards, phone kiosks and at key city transit points, including
waterways, commuter trains and PATH transit hubs this week. The company
declined to disclose what it is spending on the campaign.
A spokesman for the company did confirm that the lack of a broadcast TV
component to the ad buy was because Aereo didn't think that was going to
fly with broadcasters. "Given the circumstances, Aereo figured that they
would not carry them and decided not to pursue" a broadcast buy, he said.
Aereo is not paying any fees to deliver those local channels, insisting
that it is simply acting as a proxy for free over-the-air antenna
reception on behalf of its subscribers. As a result, broadcasters have
sued Aereo for copyright infringement, arguing the service amounts to
retransmission and that the startup is subject to the same rules as
cable, satellite and telco TV operators.
Aereo won a legal victory in July 2012 when a federal district court
judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by a group of
17 network broadcasters to shut down the startup. That ruling relied on
a previous appeals court ruling that Cablevision Systems' Remote Storage
DVR service did not violate copyright laws. The broadcasters suing Aereo
have appealed the ruling and their civil litigation is pending.
Aereo's pricing plans include: $1 per day with three hours of DVR
storage; $8 per month with 20 hours; $12 per month with 40 hours; and
$80 per year for 40 hours of storage. The company also offers a free
sampling option with access to the service for a continuous one-hour
period every day.
Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Google Chrome,
Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Apple TV (via airplay) and
Roku devices.
Aereo said membership now is available to consumers residing in the
following counties: in New York State, New York, Bronx, Kings, Queens,
Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster,
Sullivan, Orange, Dutchess; in Connecticut’s Fairfield County; in
Pennsylvania’s Pike County; and in the following counties in New Jersey,
Bergen, Warren, Union, Sussex, Somerset, Passaic, Ocean, Morris,
Monmouth, Middlesex, Hunterdon, Hudson, and Essex.
A full list of eligible zip codes is available at aereo.com/support.
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Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927
Political Science Mail: antunes at uh dot edu
University of Houston
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