diff --git a/broadcaster/_backends/redis.py b/broadcaster/_backends/redis.py
index 096a033..8b4553e 100644
--- a/broadcaster/_backends/redis.py
+++ b/broadcaster/_backends/redis.py
@@ -1,34 +1,36 @@
-import asyncio_redis
+import aioredis
+import asyncio
 import typing
-from urllib.parse import urlparse
+
 from .base import BroadcastBackend
 from .._base import Event
 
 
 class RedisBackend(BroadcastBackend):
     def __init__(self, url: str):
-        parsed_url = urlparse(url)
-        self._host = parsed_url.hostname or "localhost"
-        self._port = parsed_url.port or 6379
+        self.conn_url = url
+        self.channel = None
 
     async def connect(self) -> None:
-        self._pub_conn = await asyncio_redis.Connection.create(self._host, self._port)
-        self._sub_conn = await asyncio_redis.Connection.create(self._host, self._port)
-        self._subscriber = await self._sub_conn.start_subscribe()
+        loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
+        self._pub_conn = await aioredis.create_redis(self.conn_url, loop=loop)
+        self._sub_conn = await aioredis.create_redis(self.conn_url, loop=loop)
 
     async def disconnect(self) -> None:
         self._pub_conn.close()
         self._sub_conn.close()
 
     async def subscribe(self, channel: str) -> None:
-        await self._subscriber.subscribe([channel])
+        channel = await self._sub_conn.subscribe(channel)
+        self.channel = channel[0]
 
     async def unsubscribe(self, channel: str) -> None:
-        await self._subscriber.unsubscribe([channel])
+        await self._sub_conn.unsubscribe(channel)
 
     async def publish(self, channel: str, message: typing.Any) -> None:
-        await self._pub_conn.publish(channel, message)
+        await self._pub_conn.publish_json(channel, message)
 
     async def next_published(self) -> Event:
-        message = await self._subscriber.next_published()
-        return Event(channel=message.channel, message=message.value)
+        while (await self.channel.wait_message()):
+            message = await self.channel.get_json()
+            return Event(channel=self.channel.name.decode("utf8"), message=message)
diff --git a/broadcaster/_base.py b/broadcaster/_base.py
index 44ec030..73621f7 100644
--- a/broadcaster/_base.py
+++ b/broadcaster/_base.py
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ async def __aexit__(self, *args, **kwargs) -> None:
 
     async def connect(self) -> None:
         await self._backend.connect()
-        self._listener_task = asyncio.create_task(self._listener())
 
     async def disconnect(self) -> None:
         if self._listener_task.done():
@@ -65,8 +64,9 @@ async def disconnect(self) -> None:
     async def _listener(self) -> None:
         while True:
             event = await self._backend.next_published()
-            for queue in list(self._subscribers.get(event.channel, [])):
-                await queue.put(event)
+            if event:
+                for queue in list(self._subscribers.get(event.channel, [])):
+                    await queue.put(event)
 
     async def publish(self, channel: str, message: typing.Any) -> None:
         await self._backend.publish(channel, message)
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ async def subscribe(self, channel: str) -> 'Subscriber':
                 self._subscribers[channel] = set([queue])
             else:
                 self._subscribers[channel].add(queue)
+            self._listener_task = asyncio.create_task(self._listener())
 
             yield Subscriber(queue)
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 61793bb..04a3985 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ def get_packages(package):
     # package_data={"starlette": ["py.typed"]},
     # data_files=[("", ["LICENSE.md"])],
     extras_require={
-        "redis": ["asyncio-redis"],
+        "redis": ["aioredis"],
         "postgres": ["asyncpg"],
         "kafka": ["aiokafka"]
     },