Andre Yoskowitz
21 Jul 2014 23:11
Aereo became a household name over the past year as the tiny startup took on broadcast giants like CBS, Fox and Disney in an effort to stay alive.
The Supreme Court recently stomped on that dream, ruling that Aereo, which offers cloud DVR access to the broadcast channels in HD anywhere for $8 per month, violates the copyrights of the content providers. Aereo then tried to become a cable company, but that was rejected, as well, as the company awaits its final fate via a lower court ruling.
Even though the company was famous, it does not appear that the brand recognition really helped sales, at least not as of December 31, 2013.
According to a U.S. Copyright Office letter, as of the end of last year Aereo only had 77,596 subscribers, with over 30 percent coming from New York City where Aereo first launched. The company expanded significantly in 2014, so the figures could conceivably be much higher now, but even with 100 percent growth the numbers will still be low when compared to popular streaming services.
The big boys of the streaming world, Netflix and Hulu, have 50 million and 6 million subscribers, respectively.
Source:
Recode