The Verge - Aereo's online TV service launches amid legal challenges

Broadcasters go after Aereo by suing smaller competitor, Aereokiller

2013-05-24T22:41:05Z

Chet Kanojia, CEO and founder of Aereo

The nation's largest television broadcasters filed a copyright lawsuit against FilmOn.TV and its Aereokiller service yesterday, alleging that the service retransmits TV programming without authorization or compensating them, according to a story in Variety. Aereokiller is the flippantly-named competitor to Aereo, the company that uses dime-sized antennas to capture over-the-air TV transmissions and then streams them to subscribers by way of the internet.

This is part of an escalating fight for control of the country's TV airwaves. The broadcasters say that if Aereo, or any other company is allowed to distribute their programming without licensing it then nobody will. A big chunk of the...

Aereo streaming TV service coming to Atlanta on June 17th

2013-05-14T12:18:05Z

Aereo announced ambitious plans to launch in 22 new cities this year, and now it has just given details on the third city to receive the innovative streaming TV service. Atlanta residents will be able to access Aereo starting on June 17th — pre-registered customers will get an invite to join up for service that day, and it'll be available to all potential customers in the area one week later. Aereo says its service will be available to over 5.3 million residents in the Atlanta metropolitan area and will follow availability in the wider New York City metropolitan area as well as Boston (which launches tomorrow).

This launch comes amidst a number of ongoing legal battles between Aereo and broadcast networks like CBS, Fox, and NBC...

Aereo streamlines its plans, eliminates daily and annual subscription options

2013-05-13T13:10:34Z

Aereo has just announced that it is cutting back on the number of plans it offers by eliminating its $1 per day plan it introduced last summer as well as the option to have a cheaper annual subscription. Now, Aereo will only offer its its $8 monthly plan (which includes 20 hours of DVR storage) or a $12 monthly plan that triples DVR storage to 60 hours. Unfortunately for those who knew they were in for the long haul with Aereo, the $80 annual subscription will no longer be an option, which means customers will definitely be paying more over the course of a year, regardless of how much storage they need. Aereo says that its data showed that customers wanted a "simple" approach to pricing, but it's a shame that simple approach eliminates...

Crazy like a Fox: how broadcast networks could rake in billions by going cable-only

2013-05-06T21:14:02Z

An array of Aereo's coin-sized antennas, designed to pick up TV signals and retransmit them to paying subscribers.

The bluster-fueled battle between upstart Aereo and incumbent over-the-air broadcasters has reached a fever pitch in recent days, most recently with a legal complaint designed to prevent CBS from filing another copyright lawsuit against the service as it prepares to launch in Boston later this month.

There's no love lost, and little hope for a truce. Legacy broadcasters fundamentally believe that Aereo is outright stealing their content, which it retransmits over the internet to paying subscribers. The legal system has thus far disagreed, leading executives at both Fox and CBS to posit a nearly unthinkable "nuclear option":...

Aereo files suit against CBS to head off second copyright claim from network

2013-05-06T14:57:05Z

Aereo has filed a complaint today against CBS in an effort to prevent the network from filing additional lawsuits against the fledgling service.

Aereo is a web TV service that enables users to view over-the-air broadcasts via the web. Two groups of television networks — groups that include CBS, Fox, and NBC — filed copyright claims last year and argued that Aereo is an illegal service because it distributes their programming without compensating them. After losing two decisions in New York this year, a CBS spokesman said on Twitter two weeks ago that CBS plans to file another lawsuit against Aereo in Boston, an area Aereo recently announced it would move into. Aereo says that the broadcasters are just shopping for a more...

CBS CEO Moonves says he could take network cable-only in 'a few days' if Aereo prevails

2013-05-01T00:41:20Z

CBS CEO Les Moonves has said before that he’s talked with New York cable operators about taking his network cable-only if Aereo is allowed to keep streaming what it broadcasts on the internet, but now he’s saying that he could make the switch in as little as a few days "if we are forced to." By taking free CBS broadcasts off the airwaves, Moonves says, "about 10 percent of America will not get our signal and I don’t think they will like that." Aereo sells people access to individual TV antennas on its premises, letting paying subscribers watch the free broadcasts they capture online.

CBS threatens to sue Aereo again, this time in Boston

2013-04-23T19:06:33Z

CBS indicated today in a heated Twitter post from one of the company's public relations executives that the media giant intends to file another copyright complaint against Aereo — this time in Boston. Aereo uses the internet to connect TV viewers to tiny antennas housed at the company's facilities and enables them to watch over-the-air broadcasts on web-connected devices. The company is accused in lawsuits filed by CBS and many of the nation's other top broadcasters of stealing their over-the-air programming.

Dana McClintock, executive vice president of communications for CBS, made the comments during a Twitter exchange with Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG Research and Ben Popper, a Verge editor. Greenfield had noted that Aereo...

Aereo coming to Boston on May 15th

2013-04-23T13:03:03Z

Aereo, the company that lets users stream live broadcast TV over the Internet, is heading to Boston. Aereo announced today that beginning May 15th, customers in the Boston metropolitan area who pre-registered will receive invitations to be the first in their region to try out the service, which will include all 28 broadcast channels available right now over the air, as well as Bloomberg TV. General availability for all 4.5 million people in the Boston market, which includes parts of New Hampshire and Vermont as well as Massachusetts, will follow on May 30th.