Advanced Television

Aereo set for Detroit launch

October 21, 2013

By Colin Mann

Buoyed by having gained the upper hand in court battles with US network broadcasters who claim copyright infringement, Internet TV streaming service Aereo has announced plans to launch its technology in the Detroit metropolitan area on October 28th.

The Detroit metro area includes nine counties across Michigan and more than 4.2 million consumers. Aereo’s announcement follows its expansion from its New York launch market earlier this year to the Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Salt Lake City, Houston and Dallas metropolitan areas and the announcement that it would release an Android app. Aereo also plans to announce additional launch dates for its expansion cities throughout the remainder of the 2013.

Aereo CEO and Founder Chet Kanojia, said that across the country, the message from consumers was clear: “They want more choice and flexibility when it comes to how they watch television and they don’t want to be fenced into outdated and cumbersome technology. Aereo’s cloud-based antenna/DVR technology brings the old-fashioned antenna into the 21st Century, making television watching simple again.”

Detroit metro area residents who pre-register at Aereo.com will receive priority access to sign up. Aereo’s technology will be available to all consumers across the nine-county area on October 28.

In the Detroit metropolitan region, consumers will be able to use Aereo’s antenna/DVR technology to record and watch more than 20 over-the-air channels including major networks such WJBK (Fox), WDIV (NBC), WXYZ (ABC), WTVS (PBS); and special interest channels such as BounceTV, MOVIES!, ThisTV, MyNetworkTV, AntennaTV and Qubo (children’s programming). In addition, consumers will also have the ability to add Bloomberg Television.

Aereo’s technology works on ‘smart’ devices from tablets to phones to laptop computers. Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and devices running Android operating system version 4.2 or higher. The Aereo Android app will be available for download from the Google Play Store on October 22. Aereo is also supported on Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Opera, AppleTV (via airplay) and Roku devices.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, FTA, OTT, OTT