So if you’d like to cut the cord of your cable company and go Over The Air (OTA), there may soon be another option, beyond putting up rabbit ears.
Aereo is a new company who recently moved into Chicago after facing some legal battles against the national broadcast networks.
They have a very unique technology where they are able to transmit local broadcast signals over the internet. In Chicago (any local markets), they use individual antennas to pick up the OTA channels, and allow customers on the internet to select which antenna (local channel) they want to receive. The local programming is provided live, over the internet with the help of a specially designed antenna at the customer’s end. The only fee paid to watch the local channels is paid to Aereo.
“Aereo and Barry Diller, the billionaire investor who sits on Aereo’s board, say they’re taking the risks and going to all this trouble because they’re betting consumers are tired of paying $150 a month on cable bundles, especially when most people only watch a fraction of the channels.”
There may be some staying power for this technology, even in the event that the national networks stop broadcasting OTA signals. New networks could pick up the local transmitters and start their own broadcast networks, with the help of the Aereo technology.
It is not highly unlikely that you will be able to eliminate commercials from this new internet technology. For this reason, I do not see this technology ever losing in court. The broadcast networks actually have a case for their advertisers that they are reaching an even bigger audience, and an audience (unlike OTA viewers with computers) that cannot avoid the commercials.
Eye on the Ball 