The Android app, available for download in the Google Play store on Oct. 22, will work only in the seven markets where Aereo has launched its $8-a-month service.
"This year, our focus has been on growing our footprint across the country," said Aereo CEO and founder Chet Kanojia in a statement.
Launched last year and backed by billionaire media mogul Barry Diller, Aereo uses its mini-antennas, assigned to each subscriber, to transmit over-the-air TV station content. Each antenna receives the TV signal, and allows a subscriber to view or record the content through Aereo's streaming technology.
TV station owners have fought to ban Aereo, arguing in courts that the technology violates copyrights. Broadcasters also worry they will lose retransmission revenues -- the money cable and satellite companies pay broadcasters to carry their signals -- if viewers can watch TV directly online.
So far, Aereo has won the legal challenges for an injunction against its service. But broadcasters plan to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review lower court rulings, according to Variety. Broadcasters must file the petition by Oct. 15.
Earlier this year, a panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York affirmed a lower court decision that Aereo doesn't violate broadcasters' copyrights by streaming their programming via the Internet. Major broadcasters that were part of the lawsuit, including PBS, Fox and Univision, asked a federal appeals court to reconsider the decision but were refused.
Aereo is currently available in New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Miami, Houston and Dallas.
Aereo's technology already works on laptops, desktop computers and devices running Apple's operating system. It's also ava! ilable on AppleTV and Roku devices.
No comments:
Post a Comment