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Tag: Chet Kanojia

  • Aereo to launch in Atlanta next month

    Aereo to launch in Atlanta next month

    MUMBAI: Aereo which has caused heartburn among US broadcasters has announced that Atlanta will be the next market to receive its streaming TV service. Aereo converts television signals into computer data and sends them to new media devices like the PC.

    It will launch there next month. It is already present in Boston and New York. Aereo founder and CEO Chet Kanojia said, “We‘re grateful and humbled by the continued support we‘ve received from consumers for our technology. The response and enthusiasm from consumers across all of our expansion cities has been phenomenal. 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want more choice and flexibility in how they watch television and they don‘t want to be fenced into expensive, outdated technology.”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. We‘re thrilled to be coming to Atlanta and look forward to our launch in June,” he added.

    Aereo will offer 27 Atlanta-area broadcast channels and the Bloomberg TV cable channel. The service will be limited to residents of 55 counties in Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina.

    There have been lawsuits over Aereo which it so far has won. Channels like Fox have threatened to go to cable over the issue. Aereo adds that its remote (cloud-based) antenna/DVR technology makes watching television simple and user-friendly. Using Aereo‘s technology, consumers can pause, rewind and fast-forward any program that they are watching live, or save a programme for future viewing.

  • CBS, News Corp risk disenfranchising viewers by going pay: Aereo CEO

    CBS, News Corp risk disenfranchising viewers by going pay: Aereo CEO

    MUMBAI: During Ad Age‘s Digital Conference Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia addressed the threat by CBS and News Corp to stop their channels from being free to air.

    “The real question is a consumer question: Can you rightfully disenfranchise 50 million consumers? Is that what the preferred policy is?” he asked.

    “They‘re independent businesses. They can choose to do what they wish to. I‘m just sort of the engineer at the bottom of the food chain. I have no idea what these guys do or not” he added.

    Aereo pulls down over-the-air content by using an antenna. It then streams this content over the Internet to various devices. It plans to expand across the US.

    It recently won victories in court.

    He doesn‘t believe that Fox or any other broadcaster will follow on their threat to go to cable as their reach is great. “It‘s such a large audience, I don‘t see how those customers aren‘t going to get served”.

    But if the networks follow through Kanojia feels that other content service providers will replace them as public broadcasters. “That spectrum is incredibly valuable. Somebody‘s going to take advantage of that”.

  • US broadcasters could go to Congress in Aereo dispute

    US broadcasters could go to Congress in Aereo dispute

    MUMBAI: The fight between the US broadcasters like Fox and Barry Diller-backed Aereo is likely to get hotter. There is possibility of the broadcasters could appeal to the US Congress.

    Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia has been quoted in reports saying that in the past broadcasters have gone to Congress. Earlier a US court of appeals had dismissed a plea by broadcasters against Aereo.

    Aereo uses tiny antennas to pick up free over-the-air broadcast television signals and then transmits the video to its customers over the Internet. News Corp COO Chase Carey has threatened to make Fox pay on cable.

    Right now Aereo is only in New York but the plan is to expand to several more cities. Aereo‘s premium subscription plan costs $12 a month.

    The broadcasters want Aereo to pay to rebroadcast their signals, just like cable and satellite providers already do. Broadcast transmission fees are now a multi-billion dollar business. If Aereo can access content for free then cable companies that also retransmit signals might ask for the fee to be removed or reduced.

    Of course Aereo is another case of the disruptive influence of the Internet and the impact it is having on business models and revenue streams.

  • Aereo wins court fight against US channels

    Aereo wins court fight against US channels

    MUMBAI: In a setback to US television broadcasters, a Federal Appeals court has ruled that Aereo can continue to stream live TV through its site and app.

    The digital TV startup which is backed by Barry Diller will be able to continue operating and the dispute is expected to get a proper court hearing.

    Aereo streams TV channels without compensating them, but the broadcasters feel they will win eventually. But Aereo, which is only available in New York City, plans to offer its service in nearly 24 more cities this year.

    Channels like CBS, Disney and Fox complain that none of Aereo‘s $8 a month fee goes to the local TV stations. This is not the case when programming is carried over cable and satellite services, which have to pay the stations rebroadcast fees – fees the TV stations are increasingly depending on in a time when ad revenue is on the decline because of competition from Internet ad services.

    The broadcasters said in a statement: “This was a loss for the entire creative community. The court has ruled that it is okay to steal copyrighted material and re-transmit it without compensation. While we are disappointed with this decision, we have and are considering our options to protect our programming.”

    Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia said, “We may be a small start-up, but we have always believed in standing up and fighting for our consumers. We are grateful for the court’s thoughtful analysis and decision and we look forward to continuing to build a successful business that puts consumers first.”