Aereo headed to Boston on May 15th, open access begins May 30th
Good news, Bostonians: yours is the second major US city to get Aereo live television access via the web, and it's starting on May 15th. Aereo announced its next city expansion this morning, and said the service will go live to pre-registered parties on May 15th. It will eventually become widely available to Boston's "designated market area," which includes "more than 4.5 million consumers in 15 counties in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont." We've got the full list of counties after the break if you're interested.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg for Aereo, which has plans for expansion in 22 cities just this year. The OTA network internet streaming TV service launched in New York City early last year. Traditional broadcast networks have voiced concern over Aereo's TV model, even threatening to move to cable should the nascent internet company gets its way in an ongoing legal battle.
Massachusetts: Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester
New Hampshire: Belknap, Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties
Vermont: Windham County
Show full PR text
Aereo Sets Launch Date for Boston
More Than 4.5 Million Boston-Area Consumers Will Have Access to Aereo's Groundbreaking Antenna Technology to Watch Live Television Online
Starting May 15, Pre-Registered Consumers Will Begin to Receive Invitations to Join Aereo; General Membership Access Begins on May 30
CEO Chet Kanojia Will Give a 'Sneak Peak' Tonight at Boston New Tech Meet Up Hosted at StartUp Lab Allston
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Apr 23, 2013) - Aereo, Inc., today announced plans to launch its groundbreaking online television technology in the Boston metropolitan area. Beginning May 15, consumers who have pre-registered with Aereo will receive a special invitation to join and be one of the first to experience Aereo's technology. After May 30, Aereo will make membership available to all eligible consumers across the Boston designated market area (DMA), which includes more than 4.5 million consumers in 16 counties in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Boston is the second city to launch as part of Aereo's expansion announced in January.
"Aereo is simply the easiest, most convenient way for consumers to access broadcast television online using an antenna," said Aereo CEO and Founder Chet Kanojia. "Consumers deserve more choice and flexibility in how they experience television and Aereo provides them a high-quality, rationally-priced alternative. This is an exciting step forward for the company. Today's announcement is even more meaningful and special for our more than 60 employees who call the Boston area home, including me. I'm proud of our team and what we've accomplished in such a short period of time."
Aereo's innovative remote (cloud-based) antenna/DVR technology makes watching television simple and user-friendly. Using Aereo's technology, consumers can pause, rewind and fast-forward any program that they are watching live, or save a program for future viewing. In Boston, there are 28 over-the-air broadcast channels accessible through Aereo's antenna/DVR technology, including major networks such as WGBH (PBS), WBZ-TV (CBS), WCVB (ABC), WHDH (NBC), WLVI (CW) and WFXT (Fox); special interest channels such as The Country Network, PBS Kids, Ion and Qubo; and Spanish-language broadcast channels such as Univision and Telemundo. In addition, consumers can also add Bloomberg Television, for a total of 29 channels.
Aereo works on 'smart' devices from tablets to phones to laptop computers. Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Safari, Opera, AppleTV (via airplay) and Roku devices.
Aereo membership is available to consumers residing in the following counties in Massachusetts: Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester; in New Hampshire's Belknap, Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties; and in Vermont's Windham County.
Aereo has offices in Long Island City (Queens), Downtown Brooklyn and in Boston's Innovation District. Aereo employs more than 60 people in the Boston area, primarily engineers and developers. For information on hiring, please visit Aereo.com/careers.
