Aereo TV streaming expands to major Web browsers
The service now works with Google Chrome and Internet Explorer, among others.
New York-based startup Aereo today said its service has been expanded to all major Web browsers, including Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. Previously, its service was limited to Apple devices and Roku's Internet-connected boxes.
"The vast majority of American households own laptop or desktop computers -- it's only natural that we expand the universe of Internet browsers that can access Aereo," Chief Executive Chet Kanojia said in a press release. "More flexibility, more choice, and more devices mean a better overall experience for the consumer."Aereo has a real chance at changing the TV business by enabling cord cutters to access network programming. The company provides a Web TV service -- currently only in New York -- that allows consumers to access and record live TV channels such as NBC, Fox, ABC, and CBS (parent company of CNET). Using dime-sized antennas, Aereo captures freely available over-the-air broadcast signals and sends the programming over the Internet to Web-connected devices.
The service, backed by Barry Diller, has faced a lot of outrage from the network operators, which argue that Aereo could kill the broadcast TV business. A federal judge earlier this year denied a request by the major TV networks to prevent Aereo from rebroadcasting their programs over the Internet.