9to5Mac reviewed Aereo—the New York City-only service that streams over-the-air local TV to any Mac, iOS, or PC device running Safari for $8 a month—last March and hoped the service would expand soon, and, although it is almost a year later, the company just announced it would indeed launch in 22 new cities in 2013.
The news was first made public on the service’s website and at a conference in Las Vegas, and the company further revealed the expansion is funded by a $38 million B round:
Aereo also today announced that it has closed on a $38 million Series B round of financing, led by existing investors IAC and Highland Capital Partners. Previous investors from Aereo’s Series A funding round, including FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital, High Line Venture Partners, and select individuals, also participated in this second round of financing.
The decidedly MacGyver tech behind Aereo relies on fingertip-sized TV antennas in data centers that allow servers to live-stream channels with high-definition reception through a speedy Internet connection. Aereo also works with Apple TV via iTunes’ AirPlay and a source iOS device, and even Roku-lovers can use the Aereo channel through set-top boxes. The service flaunts 40 hours of DVR storage space and an HTML 5 experience. That’s right, no apps—nor cords, cables, and boxes; hence the startup’s “It’s TV made simple” badge.
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Aereo was an invite-only, 90-day free trial to New York City residents, but now other cities, such as Chicago, can enjoy its in-market TV experience. As AllThingsD noted, New York City residents cannot use Aereo to watch a Bears game via a Chicago station because of the in-market limitations, but the expansion will give more than 97 million American consumers the choice to access over-the-air broadcast television
No cable subscription is required to use Aereo and membership plans begin at $1 per day, $8 per month, or $80 per year. For more information, check out Aereo’s press release (PDF) or watch a replay of today’s event at Veracast.
Aereo will launch in the following 22 U.S. cities:
- Boston
- Miami
- Austin
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Houston
- Washington, D.C.
- Baltimore,
- Detroit
- Denver
- Minneapolis
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- Tampa
- Cleveland
- Kansas City
- Raleigh-Durham
- Salt Lake City
- Birmingham
- Providence
- Madison, Wis.
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