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NEW YORK » Aereo, a service that delivers broadcast television stations over the Internet, will come to Android devices on Oct. 22.
The service started on iPhones and other Apple devices along with the Roku streaming box before expanding to personal computers. The company says that the Android offering took longer because of the many versions of Android available. Device makers are able to customize the version made by Google.
Aereo says its Android app will run on phones and tablets with Android 4.2 or higher. It will be in a beta test mode at first.
On iPhones and iPads, Aereo is accessible through the device’s Web browser. Aereo opted to develop a stand-alone app for Android to give subscribers a consistent experience on a wide range of devices.
Aereo converts television signals into computer data and sends them over the Internet to subscribers’ computers and mobile devices. Subscribers can watch channels live or record them with an Internet-based digital video recorder. In addition to over-the-air channels in the subscriber’s market, Aereo offers the financial cable channel Bloomberg TV.
Aereo is currently available in New York, Boston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Miami, Houston and Dallas. It has plans to expand to at least 26 additional markets by next year. Service starts at $8 a month.
Aereo has won key court rulings against broadcasters that claim its service infringes copyrights. The victories include a ruling in Boston on Tuesday denying ABC station WCVB’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop Aereo’s service. However, the judge in Boston also denied Aereo’s request to move the case to New York, where Aereo has prevailed at the appellate level in two similar lawsuits.
