New York – Aereo, the controversial local TV service for mobile devices, said Friday that it is preparing to launch service in the greater Cincinnati area as the next leg in its national expansion.
The Aereo service will launch in a 24-county area, spanning parts of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, on Jan. 21.
Aereo's announcement follows its expansion last year to the Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Salt Lake City, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Denver and Baltimore metropolitan areas and follows the company's announcement last week of an additional infusion of $34 million of funding.
Aereo will announce additional launch dates in cities throughout 2014, according to a company statement.
"Aereo is growing, and we're thrilled that our expansion has brought us to the greater Cincinnati region and three new states: Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana," said Aereo CEO and founder Chet Kanojia. "Aereo's 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. It's a simple and modern way to use an antenna to watch television - the way it should be. We're committed to providing best-in-class technology and customer service to our users and we're excited to introduce Aereo to Greater Cincinnati."
Greater Cincinnati residents who pre-register at Aereo.com will receive priority access to sign up.
Aereo's remote (Cloud-based) antenna/DVR technology enables users to view, pause, rewind and save for later viewing local TV broadcasts on their connected mobile devices including: laptops, smartphones and tablets.
Aereo is currently supported on the iPad, iPhone and 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.
In the Greater Cincinnati rollout, consumers will be able to watch 30 over-the-air channels including: WCPO (ABC), WLWT (NBC), WKRC (CBS), WXIX (Fox), WPTO (PBS) and CET (PBS); and special interest channels RetroTV, MeTV, BounceTV, TuffTV, WCPO Weather, Create and ThisTV.
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 ($12 per month), consumers can upgrade to 60 hours of DVR storage. As a sign-up incentive, customers who join Aereo will get the first of month of access free.
Ohio counties covered in the latest expansion include Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland and Warren. Kentucky counties include Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Mason, Pendleton, Robertson and Owen. Indiana counties include Dearborn, Ohio, Ripley, Switzerland, Franklin and Union.
