Aereo Announces Launch Date for Boston

Aereo is a technology company based out of New York City that allows subscribers to view live as well as time-shifted streams of over-the-air TV on Internet-connected devices.The service was launched in February 2012.

Immediately following Aereo's launch in New York, the company was sued by a consortium of major broadcasters. These included CBS, NBCUniversal, Disney's ABC and Newscorp's Fox for copyright infringement. Earlier this month on April 1, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling, finding that Aereo’s streams to subscribers were not "public performances" and therefore did not constitute any kind of copyright infringement.

Today, April 23, Aereo announced that it has plans to launch its online TV technology in the Boston metropolitan area. On May 15, pre-registered consumers will receive a special invitation to join Aereo. This group will be the first to have an opportunity to get the Aereo experience. This will be followed by having general membership access on May 30.

The expectation is that there are more than 4.5 million consumers in 16 counties in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. As part of Aereo’s expansion plan, Boston will be the second city to launch.

"Aereo is simply the easiest, most convenient way for consumers to access broadcast television online using an antenna,” said Chet Kanojia, Aereo’s CEO. “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."

According to Aereo, their innovative, cloud-based remote antenna and DVR technology makes watching TV simple and user-friendly. You basically have the same options as you would from a cable company’s DVR.

In the Boston area, 28 over-the-air channels will be accessible. These include some of the major networks such as WGBH (PBS), WBZ-TV (CBS), WCVB (ABC), WHDH (NBC), WLVI (CW) and WFXT (Fox). There will also be special-interest channels like the Country Network, PBS Kids and Spanish-language channels like Univision and Telemundo.