Aereo, Inc. is adding four new cities to its nationwide expansion: Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, and San Antonio, Texas.
The combined population of those four markets is eight million people. The new metropolitan areas join Aereo’s list of expansion cities announced earlier this year.
“From Boston to Salt Lake City, people are craving alternatives and more choice with how they watch television,” Aereo CEO and Founder Chet Kanojia said Tuesday at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia Conference in New York. “Consumers are tired of being pawns in the tug-of-war between big businesses. They deserve better.”
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To date, Aereo — which is back by Barry Diller — has launched in New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Miami, Houston and Dallas. It plans to continue launching in new cities throughout 2013 and 2014.
Aereo uses a series of tiny antennae to pick up signals from over-the-air networks. The company does not pay retransmission fees, which has led to lawsuits from networks that say it is stealing.
Consumers can watch shows live and pause, rewind or fast forward in the same way they could with DVR. They can also save a program for future viewing. Membership begins at $8 per month.