In an apparent effort to bolster its case vis-a-vis the litigating broadcast networks, Barry Diller's Aereo on Thursday announced that consumers in the New York area can now receive its service for one hour a day free. They do not even have to provide a credit card. The only provision is that theyagree to receive only one network program at a time and no recording capability. They can also pay $1 a day for three hours of programming using two antennas plus recording capability. Subscribers who sign up for a full year for $80 get unlimited service and three months free -- bringing the cost of the service to $5.33 per month and the ability to record 40 hours of programming. In any case, Aereo already provides free access to WNET, the public broadcasting station in New York. That, too, is likely to be looked upon favorably by the court, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield said on Thursday. "We suspect its on-going court case will be strengthened by helping consumers access public broadcasting signals at no cost and with no credit card required," Greenfield said.

03/08/2012