Aereo Gets Ready To Expand

There has been a lot of exciting news for cloud TV streaming start-up company Aereo, Inc. recently. Yesterday, Aereo made yet another announcement to launch in the Denver metropolitan area on November 4. The launch follows the announcements of Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Salt Lake City, Houston, Dallas and Detroit expansions. Further launch dates are expected from the company throughout 2013 and 2014.

Aereo was made available for Android October 22. Aereo Broadcast-Over-IP for Android is compatible with all mobile devices running Android operating system 4.2 or higher. The technology integrates with Android smartphones, tablets and laptops. Aereo is supported on browsers Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Roku devices and AppleTV. Membership is around $8 per month, which includes Aereo’s cloud-based antenna/DVR technology with 20 hours of DVR storage. DVR storage upgrades are also available.

Aereo’s CEO Chet Kanojia wrote on the company’s blog, “It’s clear that consumers want more choice and flexibility in how they watch television and they don’t want to be fenced into expensive, outdated technology. Aereo’s 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’s technology is a more simple, elegant and easy way to watch television – the way it should be. At Aereo, we believe consumers deserve better technologies and a better customer experience and we’re committed to delivering on both.”

The first Android app was also launched with Android. Aereo’s Android app was also released in public beta October 22. The app will be available to all Aereo members residing in markets where Aereo’s technology has launched.  The app will be compatible with devices running Android operating system 4.2 or higher.  With the free new app, Android devices can also be used to connect Roku to a subscribers Aereo account. Both the public beta app is available for download and Roku connection at the Google Play store. Android users can access the app’s cloud-based TV service in seven different markets from their devices. Users must have the required Android operating system 4.2 or higher.

Aereo CEO, Chet Kanojia also stated on the company’s blog, “We know consumers have been waiting a long time for an Aereo Android app and today, we’re happy to announce its release later this month. At Aereo, we believe consumers should have more choice and control over how they watch television and a big part of that is expanding the universe of devices that they can use to access Aereo’s technology. This year, our focus has been on growing our footprint across the country. It’s been an exciting year for the Aereo team as we’ve expanded beyond the east coast and into the south and west. Our future is bright and we remain as committed and passionate as ever to creating innovative and simple to use technology for our consumers to access live TV online.”

Recent legal controversies for Aereo still linger from major broadcast networks. Consumer issues also amass with high electricity coverage consumption being paid for by the subscriber. CEO Chet Kanojia stated that power is "one of the biggest challenges" the company faces. Aereo is presently seeking to solve the problem by looking into implementing power generators using fuel cells. Despite the negatives, Aereo is still aggressive in its growth areas.

Aereo is rapidly growing by expanding in new markets throughout 2014. Now with Android support, users can access the streaming live television on their devices. Having top of the line streaming services, Aereo offers a very unique cost effective alternative versus its competitors Hulu Plus and Netflix. With rapid expansion efforts, Aereo will be able to better leverage more targeted networks.