{"id":652998,"date":"2013-04-17T18:00:53","date_gmt":"2013-04-17T22:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paidcontent.org\/?p=227930"},"modified":"2013-04-17T18:00:53","modified_gmt":"2013-04-17T22:00:53","slug":"aereo-ceo-says-free-content-might-be-on-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/652998","title":{"rendered":"Aereo CEO says free content might be on the way"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aereo\u2019s approach to letting consumers access broadcast TV content on their mobile devices and computers is nothing if not disruptive, and Wednesday at our paidContent Live<\/a> conference in New York, CEO Chet\u00a0Kanojia upped the ante even more. Discussing how the company will be able to expand its channel offerings without falling into the old traps of cable pricing, he suggested that a free or low-cost news package is likely on the horizon.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s part of a bigger plan to figure out how to address consumers\u2019 base needs first and foremost, before then adding the nice-to-have features for a price. Aereo sees the future of television content as being what\u00a0Kanojia calls \u201cskinny live, deep library,\u201d so the live parts are only for the content people really need in real time \u2014 stuff like news and sports.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The consumer is) the one constituent in this industry that\u2019s unserved,\u201d\u00a0Kanojia said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s businesses are stacked to take advantage of the consumer, not to serve the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n

If on the other hand, the value-add of a movie channel (oh, Aereo\u2019s probably going to add one of those, too) is to watch stuff on your own time, people will probably willing to pay 50 cents or a dollar a month, he said. The same thing goes for programming from, hypothetically, a content provider like Viacom has a broad range of shows that people don\u2019t really need or want to see only while they\u2019re airing.<\/p>\n

The only way to do this correctly, though, is to avoid traditional licensing models that have jacked cable prices through the roof and have led to a lot bloat because consumers are getting way more channels than they ever would want to watch.\u00a0Kanojia wants Aereo to provide 50 percent of the value for 10 percent of the cost of cable, and then let partners and services like Netflix or Amazon Prime fill in the rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time I checked,\u201d he joked, \u201cthere\u2019s no need to have Desperate Housewives<\/em> or the Real Housewives of Orange County<\/em> running on four channels at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for those lawsuits that have plagued the company since its inception,\u00a0Kanojia said he\u2019s not surprised but he\u2019s disappointed by threats from companies such as Fox and CBS to pull their stations off the public airwaves (the spectrum on which is provided for free because stations are supposed to operate in part in the public interest).<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t understand the logic behind that,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s disappointing to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n

But with significant legal victories already behind it, the future looks a little clearer. He expects the company model could realistically net the company 20 percent of the American television market, and the company is expanding fast outside of New York. It\u2019s supposed to be in 22 more cities by July.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing that would float by boat more than anything else,\u201d\u00a0Kanojia said, \u201cis I get a chance to put my product in front of consumers and be judged by the consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check out the rest of our paidContent Live 2013 coverage here<\/a>, and a video embed of the session follows below:<\/p>\n