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Over The Aereo

By Jordan Valinsky 11:32am

Over The Aereo

Hot Bostonites enjoying Aereo. (Photo: Facebook)

Aereo Will Roll Out Service in Boston May 15

Aereo, the online service that lets users livestream local channels, announced today that it will be rolling out service to Boston, its second major metropolitan area. Starting May 15, customers in the Massachusetts area who have pre-registered for the free service will start receiving their invites to try it out. On May 30, membership will available to all 4.5 million people in the Boston area.

Nearly 30 channels will be available for streaming, including the city’s network affiliates, specialty channels (i.e. PBS Kids, The Country Network) and some Spanish-language networks. The Boston market extends beyond Massachusetts and includes parts of New Hampshire and Vermont. Aereo has been staffing up in Boston and has several engineering job openings listed on its Career page. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 4/08 2:40pm

Over The Aereo

Chase+Carey+Cable+Executives+Testify+Senate+pg3OXXZ889Pl

News Corp. Threatens to Yank Fox Off the Airwaves and Turn It Into a Cable Channel If Aereo Wins In Court

What’s the best way to respond when a court ruling doesn’t go in your favor? Public histrionics, judging by statements from News Corp. COO Chase Carey.

Last week, the Second Circuit appeals court upheld a decision denying broadcasters their motion for a preliminary injunction against Aereo, the Barry Diller-backed startup that lets users live-stream broadcast TV. The plaintiffs in the case are a cohort of powerful media companies, including NBC, CBS, Disney and, yes, News Corp, whose COO Chase Carey is not taking the decision lying down. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 4/01 2:25pm

Over The Aereo

IAC CEO Barry Diller. (David Shankbone)

Win One for the Diller: Appeals Court Rules In Favor of IAC-Backed Aereo Over TV Networks

Aereo, the New York City-based service that lets cordcutters live-stream network TV online, has been making broadcasters feel litigious ever since IAC led a $20.5 million Series A in the startup last February. The group of 17 broadcasters suing Aereo argue that the individual antennas Aereo assigns each user are an illegal loophole to avoid paying networks costly retransmission rights–and that Aereo is guilty of copyright violation of their content.

This January, Aereo raised $38 million more, which should help cover its considerable legal fees. But the TV incumbents haven’t found much support in the courts. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth and Nitasha Tiku 1/08 1:23pm

Over The Aereo

Killer Diller. (Photo: flickr.com/techcrunch, by Dave Getzschman)

Here Comes Aereo! Service Expanding to 22 New Cities [UPDATED]

Hey, look: It’s some actual news out of CES, which has absolutely nothing to do with Evernote-integrated refrigerators! New York-based, Barry Diller-backed TV-streaming service Aereo has been teasing an expansion for some time now, and in a speech today from CEO Chet Kanojia, the company made its move.

The service will roll out to 22 new cities, including Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C, starting in the late spring. Aereo will continue its “Try for Free” program in each of the cities, so would-be cord-cutters can get a taste, but it’ll be invitation-only at first.  Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 10/17/12 10:01am

Over The Aereo

Mr. Kanojia (Photo: informitv.com)

Aereo Opens Up With Support for Windows, Chrome and Firefox

Loath to open Safari? Wedded to your Windows machine? If so, a bit of good news: TV live-stream provider Aereo is expanding beyond iOS, to provide support for browsers Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Safari and Opera.

“For us, it’s significant because it opens up the universe of people that can experience Aereo,” Virginia Lam, Aereo’s VP of communications and government relations, told Betabeat.

“We’ve been telling folks for a while that PC support would be coming, so it’s nice to finally put the news out.” Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 8/10/12 3:35pm

Over The Aereo

(Photo: BarryDriller.com)

BarryDriller.Com Is an Aereo Competitor And Not, As You Suspected, a Gay Porn Site

If you got word that someone purchased the domain name BarryDriller.com–that’s Driller, with an “r”–what would you assume you’d find therein? Reared on a steady diet of innuendo-laden Gawker posts about the IAC chairman’s “Sexy All-Boy Thanksgiving” or “His Hot Gay Facebook Friend,” one naturally pictures a delightful, tongue-in-cheek video series about an accomplished media mogul carousing, yacht-bound, with his young friends.

BarryDriller.com, as it turns out, is nowhere near as fun. Mr. Diller himself seems to agree, telling The Wall Street Journal, “I had hoped that if they steal my name they’d do it for something more provocative.” You and me both, mister.   Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 7/13/12 8:30am

Over The Aereo

Mr. Diller

Fresh Off a Legal Victory, Aereo Eyes Expansion Plans

Aereo won an important legal victory earlier this week, when a judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would’ve essentially shut the TV-streaming service down until a broadcasters’ lawsuit against the company is decided. Not only might the move have smothered the company in its cradle, but the ruling also bodes well for Aereo’s ultimate fate in the lawsuit.

Well, now that one existisitential threat has receded, it looks like the swagger is back in the company’s step.

Yesterday media mastermind and spry septuagenarian Barry Diller informed Bloomberg TV, “Within a year and a half, certainly by ’13, we’ll be in most major” markets. We like to imagine the line was accompanied by an enormous, satisfied grin.

Nor will Aereo continue hiding its light under a bushel. Mr. Diller also told Bloomberg that, “We’re going to really start marketing.” And while it may seem like Aereo is all you ever hear about, despite the occasional splashy party and a demo at New York Tech Meetup, the company hasn’t exactly been making the full-court press to consumers.

Come on, Barry, now you’re just trolling the poor broadcasters.
By Nitasha Tiku 7/12/12 8:40am

Over The Aereo

Mr. Diller

Barry Diller’s Aereo May Prevail Against Broadcasters on a Legal Technicality

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan denied broadcasters’ request for a preliminary injunction on Aereo, a service backed by Barry Diller that lets users live-stream basic channels like NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS, all of which are suing the startup.

The plaintiffs had requested an injunction to prohibit consumers from watching programming on Aereo until the broadcast had completed airing–knocking the wind out of the whole watch-it-live proposition. But the judge’s decision yesterday also offers a hint as to how other claims in the lawsuit may be decided.  Read More

By Adrianne Jeffries 6/01/12 2:50pm

Over The Aereo

Mr. Kanojia.

Aereo Chief Was ‘Angry’ When He Spoke to Fox a Month Ago, Says Fox Exec

A ruling is expected this afternoon in a lawsuit against Aereo, a potentially disruptive service that allows customers to stream broadcast television content without anyone, customers or Aereo, paying fees to broadcasters. The company is backed by more than $20 million from investors, including Barry Diller of IAC, who may be getting a little nervous: Today a Fox executive basically accused Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia of lying in court. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 5/11/12 8:43am

Over The Aereo

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Broadcasters Want Aereo Gone and They Want It Gone Yesterday

The Aereo legal saga continues. Not content to wait for a decision regarding their ongoing lawsuit, the Hollywood Reporter reports that broadcasters want a preliminary injunction against Aereo and they want it now. That means they have to prove “a likelihood of success and the prospect of irreparable injury.” The tone of the legal proceedings, therefore, have taken on something of an apocalyptic cast.

Their argument goes that the company’s mere existence is enough to threaten broadcasters’ business model. From the tone of statements earlier this week, they’re about ready to go looking for Aereo’s plug if the judge doesn’t do something, anything, to take care of this. If Aereo gets away with their over-the-air workaround, cable and satellite distributors won’t be so willing to shell out for retransmission rights. And that means television may never be the same again. They do understand that sounds like a good thing, right?  Read More