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    Skitter streams live local TV broadcasts to Roku and WD TV boxes starting at $12 per month

    Skitter streams live local TV broadcasts to Roku and WD TV boxes starting at $12 per month

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    Portland, Oregon residents are the first to get their hands on a new service from Skitter that hopes to serve the cord-cutting market. Like the recently-released Aereo service in New York City, Skitter streams live TV feeds from local networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX for a monthly fee between $12 and $15.

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    Live, streaming television has long been the dream of cord-cutters everywhere who want to avoid high cable and satellite bills and still get live news and sports, and now Portland, Oregon residents are the first to get their hands on a new service from Skitter that hopes to serve that market. Like the recently-released Aereo service in New York City, Skitter streams live TV feeds from local networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX for a monthly fee between $12 and $15. Unlike Aereo, however, channels can only be watched on a Roku box or a WD TV Live or Live Hub — streaming isn't available to computers, smartphones, or tablets yet.

    The other major difference, according to GigaOM, is that Skitter has broadcast licenses to retransmit the ten channels it offers, meaning it has the networks' full permission to offer the service and won't be embroiled in a legal battle like Aereo. The company is also working on obtaining rights for ten more channels (including some that aren't offered over-the-air), and it looks to expand the service to five other regions other than Portland this quarter. For now we suspect the service will remain pretty niche due to its SD service, compatibility with two brands of media streamers, and no web streaming option, but it's certainly something worth keeping on your radar should you be unwilling (or unable) to obtain TV from an antenna.

    Skitter TV for Roku and WD TV screenshots

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