Aereo: Live TV Online (Coming to Boston This Week)
Did you know there is high-definition basic cable just floating all around you in the air? Well there is, and you could pick it up through your TV if you had an antenna like this one.
Yep there is TV signal floating all around you, especially if live in a larger city. This is how they did it back in the old days. Now your TV comes through copper or fiber cabling in the ground, however there is still plenty of it beamed through the air.
Lately people have been getting a bit fed up with how much they have to pay for cable TV. It's overpriced and gives you way more channels than you would ever know what to do with. Therefore people have been "cutting the cord" as they say and just paying for internet and watching only the shows they want. This makes watching live TV somewhat difficult.
This is where Aereo comes in. They allow you to watch live TV over the internet for a super low price. They are still fairly new and are only live in a few cities but are rolling out service to Boston this week. I'm certainly going to give them a try. This will allow me to watch live TV for news, some sports, and a few other local stations all for a low price and with DVR.
Let me be clear, Aereo is not something that will completely replace how you watch cable TV. The number of stations they offer is limited. But I think this will be a great complement to those who want to, or already not paying for cable TV.
Aereo isn't without controversy. Some claim their technology should be illegal and most of the major networks are bringing legal action against the startup. But they aren't backing down from anyone just yet. Clearly Aereo must be doing something right because they have the major cable companies scared. Cable TV has been bullshit for a while now and this is just the type of thing that will fuel change. I can't wait to give them some of my money. I'll give them a shot and let you know if Aereo is a valid tool we can use in our cord cutting tool belt.
For more detailed info, check out these links via The Verge:
What's Aereo, why does it matter, and will it kill cable?
Time Warner Cable CEO says it could copy Aereo's business model in the future
CBS CEO Moonves says he could take network cable-only in 'a few days' if Aereo prevails
