Aereo TV-over-Internet service expands
NEW YORK — Aereo, the television-over-the-Internet service that is threatening the broadcast and cable TV industries, is expanding to Boston on May 15. With prices starting at $8 a month, Aereo will offer 28 broadcast channels, plus the cable channel Bloomberg TV.
Service will be available in Boston and surrounding areas in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Aereo announced in January that it plans to expand beyond New York to 22 additional markets. Boston represents the first metropolitan area outside New York. Others expected in the coming months include Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington.
Aereo converts television signals into computer data and sends them over the Internet to subscribers' computers and mobile devices. So far, a federal appeals court has ruled against broadcasters claims that Aereo's service constitutes copyright infringement.
iTunes turns 10, sees new challenges
In the 10 years since its inception, Apple's iTunes has changed how people buy music and access entertainment. It's not only music's biggest retailer, it also dominates the digital video market. Its apps are the most profitable, it has expanded to books and magazines, and it is now available in 119 countries.
While digital music sales rise, album sales have decreased and the music industry's profits have continued to drop over the decade.
Can it continue to dominate? With competition from Amazon, Netflix, Spotify and others, iTunes will likely need to reinvent itself to remain at the top of digital entertainment.
Amazon’s vinyl-digital offer
SEATTLE — In an odd combination of old and new, Amazon says that every time a person buys a vinyl record from its online store, it will give that customer a digital version of the songs for free.
The feature, called AutoRip, was launched in January for CDs. The company has said it has boosted music sales. Digital songs are stored in the customer's online storage account with Amazon. Songs received this way don't count against that customer's storage limit.
The new offer extends to any physical albums bought on Amazon since 1998. The digital songs can be played on a variety of devices, including Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire tablets, Android phones and tablets, and Apple Inc.'s iPads and iPhones.
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