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Aereo arrives in San Antonio

Aereo will launch its cloud-based television service in San Antonio later this month, as the controversial US online TV service continues to accelerate its national roll-out.

The February 19 launch will make San Antonio the 12th city in the US where the service is available, according to Virginia Lam, VP of communications and government relations for the company.

The New York-based firm is currently testing its mix of broadband TV and cloud DVR services in beta form.

Aereo has already launched the service in Cincinnati, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Salt Lake City, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Denver and Baltimore. Its Chicago launch has been delayed due to issues with its beta site.

Last month, the company raised US$34m in new investment to boost its roll-out operation.

The San Antonio launch comes in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision last month to hear an appeal by broadcasters that are seeking to reverse a lower court’s ruling that denied their injunction request against Aereo.

This week, online TV service FilmOn X said it will file court papers asking to participate in the one-hour oral argument and in the written briefing of the case, set to be held in April.

FilmOn X has been involved in litigation similar to that faced by Aereo and the company has appeals pending before the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after losing in lower courts.

Aereo allows subscribers in applicable US cities to watch TV channels on mobile devices using a personal antenna but does not pay licence fees to broadcasters, unlike pay TV operators like Cablevision and Comcast.

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