Aereo coming to Boston on May 15th

Aereo, the company that lets users stream live broadcast TV over the Internet, is heading to Boston. Aereo announced today that beginning May 15th, customers in the Boston metropolitan area who pre-registered will receive invitations to be the first in their region to try out the service, which will include all 28 broadcast channels available right now over the air, as well as Bloomberg TV. General availability for all 4.5 million people in the Boston market, which includes parts of New Hampshire and Vermont as well as Massachusetts, will follow on May 30th.

The move comes as part of Aereo’s larger national expansion plans to 22 new cities, following a $38 million funding round earlier this year. The company, which is backed by billionaire media tycoon Barry Diller, also recently emerged victorious from an important court battle earlier this month, against networks seeking to stop Aereo’s clever technical work-around to broadcast TV licensing. The method, which Aereo pioneered in the New York metropolitan area, is said to involve a warehouse full of miniature broadcast antennae assigned to each of Aereo’s customers. Aereo surely faces other battles ahead, but right now, the company’s growth signals are clear.