TV fans in Austin, Tex. are very lucky. Not only do they have Google Fiber and Time Warner Cable aggressively trying to win them over with faster speeds they can use to enjoy lag-free Netflix streams but they’re about to get Aereo in their fair city as well starting on March 3rd. Aereo, for those who don’t know, is a television streaming service that takes over-the-air broadcast signals and delivers them to your smartphone, tablet or laptop over your Internet connection. This means that you can use Aereo to watch over-the-air television even if you’re not at home in front of your television.
Broadcasters have unsurprisingly been screaming bloody murder about Aereo and have been pushing to get in banned in every market where it’s launched. Now that it’s launched in Austin, however, viewers in that city have an embarrassment of riches to choose from when it comes to getting their TV fix. Given that TV is rapidly becoming just another app delivered over the Internet, residents of Austin should consider themselves lucky that they’re on the bleeding edge of this massive change in how we watch our favorite shows.
Aereo’s press release follows below.
AEREO ANNOUNCES LAUNCH DATE FOR AUSTIN
Starting March 3, more than 1.25 million consumers in Greater Austin will have access to Aereo’s innovative antenna/DVR technology to record and watch live television online
New York, NY (February 24, 2014) – Aereo, Inc., today announced plans to launch its groundbreaking remote antenna/DVR television technology in the Greater Austin area on March 3. Greater Austin is Aereo’s 4th market to launch in Texas and includes a 12-county area.
“We’re excited to launch in Austin, our fourth Texas market,” said Aereo CEO and Founder Chet Kanojia. “Aereo’s innovative cloud-based antenna/DVR technology brings the old-fashioned antenna into the 21st Century, providing consumers access to the over-the-air broadcast signals that belong to them. Aereo makes using an antenna easy again – the way it should be. We’re looking forward to kicking off in Austin.”
Greater Austin 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 12-county area on March 3.
Aereo’s innovative remote (cloud-based) antenna/DVR technology makes watching television simple and user-friendly. Using Aereo’s technology, consumers can pause and rewind any program that they are watching live, or save a program for future viewing.
In the Greater Austin region, consumers will be able to use Aereo’s unique antenna/DVR technology to record and watch 19 over-the-air channels including major networks such as KVUE (ABC), KXAN (NBC), KEYE (CBS), KTBC (Fox), KNVA (CW) and KLRU (PBS); special interest channels ThisTV, MOVIES!, GetTV, Create TV and AccuWeather; and Spanish-language channels UniMás, UniVision, Telemundo and Estrella TV. In addition, consumers will also have the ability to add Bloomberg Television.
Aereo membership begins at $8 per month, for access to Aereo’s cloud-based antenna/DVR technology and 20 hours of DVR storage. For an additional $4, consumers can upgrade their membership and receive 60 hours of DVR storage for a total of $12 per month. Consumers who join Aereo will get their first of month of access for free.
Aereo membership will be available to consumers residing in the following 12 counties in Texas: Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Gillespie, Hays, Lee, Llano, Mason, Travis and Williamson.
Aereo’s technology works on ‘smart’ devices from tablets to phones to laptop computers. Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch. The Aereo app for Android™ (currently in beta) is available for download for devices running Android operating system version 4.1 or higher. Aereo is also supported on Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Opera, AppleTV (via airplay) and Roku platforms.
To learn more about Aereo’s technology and how to pre-register, visit Aereo.com.
