Touchdown. Commercial break. Kick off. Commercial break. Three and out. Commercial break again.
There is a reason each NFL game has a three hour cable slot despite only having 60 minutes of actual playing time. Every possession change, scoring play, and time out is followed by a commercial break. Only the last two minutes of each half provides viewers with uninterrupted football.
With Aereo TV, subscribers can access cable television from their phones, tablets, and computers for a fee of just $8 a month. In addition to the easy access, users can record and pause live TV with Aereo’s DVR feature. Using just a small antenna users can watch live TV or recorded shows through Aereo. Aereo is highly compatible with many devices, including Apple TV and Google Chromecast. In addition, Aereo TV can be accessed online through plenty of browsers including Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer.
Currently, Aereo is in 9 major cities, starting with New York, Boston and Miami, and has been quickly expanding west. Recent additions to Aereo’s availability include Detroit, Denver, and Salt Lake City. Eighteen more cities across the country are slated to join Aereo’s lineup in the following weeks.
Aereo is nerve-racking for the NFL and MLB, as a majority of football and baseball games are broadcasted on free television networks like FOX and CBS. The two leagues believe that if Aereo is not shut down, football and baseball games may be forced to “air games on cable channels like Disney owned ESPN or TNT.” Aereo cannot broadcast these networks without the authorization.
The growth of Aereo is threatening the ability for sports to air on free TV, as it provides users with a more flexible and easy way to watch TV for a relatively low cost. Without live sports on free TV, the NFL and MLB will stand to lose millions of dollars in advertising revenues, corporate partnerships, and more. This year, according to Adweek, a 30-second time slot during an NFL game on Fox is worth $570,000. For the playoffs and Super Bowl, that number is much higher.
While Aereo is an enticing product to buy, it will not change the way sports fans watch games. Yes, having DVR is more convenient and allows every minute of a game to be watched, but recording games and watching them on delay takes away from the sports viewing experience. One of the best parts about watching live sports is the unknown possibility of what will happen next.
In addition, watching sports is no longer a single screen activity. Rather, fans are also interacting with social networks and fantasy leagues throughout a game. There is no reason to watch a game on delay, as Twitter and fantasy matchups will reveal the scores and stats anyways. Case in point, I was taking a nap during the epic Alabama vs. Auburn Iron Bowl matchup just a couple of weeks ago. Even though the game had been recorded in my house, the ending was spoiled for me less than five minutes after I woke up. The headline on ESPN.com was about the game, my Twitter feed was blowing up with people’s reactions, and my Facebook page had videos and pictures of the final play all over the newsfeed.
Aereo’s convenience, in the fact that subscribers can stream TV from mobile devices and computers is helpful, but many similar products are already offered. RedZone, for example, has no commercials and streams over the Internet as well. RedZone also provides subscribers with the opportunity to see action from all teams playing, rather than just one game at a time.
In addition, almost any game can be found through Google search by simply typing “watch Redskins vs. Eagles online free” into the search bar. While this alternative takes away from live viewers, it is a free alternative. Although it is not necessarily legal, it is impossible to ignore the ability to freely stream any game just through a couple of clicks. ESPN3 is another free streaming website that allows users to watch any game shown on the ESPN networks from mobile devices, tablets, and laptops.
Overall, Aereo is a great idea in theory; it allows subscribers to cheaply stream and record live TV from anywhere. However, in the sports world, it is hard to see Aereo replacing live TV and the alternatives stated above. Although our society benefits from increasing technology and convenience acquiring information, there is almost a nostalgic sense when watching games and having to sit through commercials. Part of watching sports is seeing the game unfold at the same time as the rest of the country.