Less than two years after launching its online TV service, Aereo has hit a serious snag. The company says it is currently "sold out" of capacity in New York City, a situation that has forced it to temporarily turn away new customers. DSLReports was first to notice the issue after failing to sign up for a new account. Aereo CEO Chaitanya Kanojia has since confirmed the problem, saying the company will "reopen as we get more capacity deployed." Aereo uses thousands of tiny antennas to stream broadcast TV over the internet to its customers. The company has gradually expanded availability of its service across the US — much to the chagrin of TV network executives, who claim Aereo's business model is illegal.
But aside from its ongoing legal battles, the company has also been dealt technical setbacks. It pushed back a planned Chicago launch in September; Aereo remains unavailable in the city as of today. As for New York, the company says that it will start allowing new signups after completing software optimizations and upgrades to its hardware infrastructure. Aereo isn't sharing its subscriber count, but this is one of those situations where selling out is likely a good thing — so long as the company can get back on track quickly.
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A 2013 interview with Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia.