Aereo CEO Sees End To Cable TV Bundling

Chet Kanojia, founder and CEO of Aereo, believes that cable and satellite TV program bundling will eventually end, whether Aereo succeeds or fails in the marketplace.

Kanojia, who emigrated from India in 1999 and ran two companies (one was sold to Microsoft) that involved cable TV research, maintained that TV “had to migrate to the Internet. Other than cable TV employees … no one likes their incumbent cable [or satellite] provider. Bandwidth is everywhere and increasing … [and online] provides opportunities to create and get programming to consumers.” He noted that online is “the future is where you will buy or sell content. The cost of content production … is low and creators can sell to consumers. The artificial packaging [of cable TV bundles] has to go away.” It was Kanojia’s contention that “ultimately cable can’t continue to bundle and increase prices 8 percent compounded per year to provide HD broadcasts and record for over $100 a month.”