NEW YORK—Following an adverse ruling this week in the U.S. federal court in the Southern District of New York, Locast has issued a statement saying it is suspending operations.  

“As a non-profit, Locast was designed from the very beginning to operate in accordance with the strict letter of the law, but in response to the court’s recent rulings, with which we respectfully disagree, we are hereby suspending operations, effective immediately,” the statement said. 

The move will shut down service in 36 markets where Locast streams broadcast signals to users.

Broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC filed a copyright infringement suit against Locast and on August 31st, Judge Louis Standon in New York, ruled that Locast’s not-for-profit status didn’t exempt it from copyright law. Stanton denied Locast’s request for a summary judgment in the case while the broadcasters were granted a partial summary judgment in their favor.

PITTSBURGH—Local, nonprofit broadcast TV streaming service Locast announced it is delivering over 40 local TV channels via the internet for free to more than 1 million residents in the Pittsburgh TV market, which includes Morgantown, W.V.

Pittsburgh is the 35th market in which the digital translator streaming service is available. According to Locast, it operates under the Copyright Act of 1976, which permits nonprofit translator services to rebroadcast local stations without receiving a copyright license from the broadcaster.

In the Pittsburgh market, Locast’s channel lineup includes WPXI, NBC 11, WTAE, ABC 4, KDKA, CBS 2, WPGH, FOX 53, PBS, PBS Kids, and DABL, Stadium, Antenna, CourtTV, Movies, MeTV, TrueCrime, BOUNCE, Quest, LAFF, COMET, HSN, NewsNet and Charge!

Available to more than half of the U.S. population, Locast is available for free. Locast asks viewers for donations to cover its operating costs, as permitted by the Copyright Act, it said.

Donations are voluntary, and a special program exists for low-income households, university students, retirees and first responders who qualify to receive local channels without interruptions for donation requests, it said.

Locast was started by Washington, D.C., attorney David Goodfriend in 2018.

More information is available on the Locast website.

TRI-CITIES, Tenn.—Locast is now available in the Tri-Cities market, which covers an area that includes Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky. Locast says it will make available more than two dozen local TV channels to the area’s nearly 700,000 residents.

The Tri-Cities market includes Bristol, Johnson City and Kingsport in Tennessee; it also covers surrounding rural areas in Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky. Locast collaborated with Bristol Tennessee Essential Services on the deployment.

Locast delivers local TV channels to residents over the internet and with no monthly fee, though the service does ask for a donation of $5 per month to support their operations. It pitches itself as serving consumers that have either become cord-cutters or are cord-nevers. 

The rebroadcast of local signals is a point of contention, however, as major broadcasters are suing Locast over its right to do so based on the Copyright Act of 1976.

For its deployment in the Tri-Cities market, Locast delivers 27 channels, including local NBC, Fox, ABC and CBS affiliates and the likes of the CW, Court TV, ION, TrueCrime, LAFF and more.

Viewers in 19 counties across the Tri-Cities market will now be able to receive Locast services, including Leslie and Letcher counties in Kentucky; Carter, Greene, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties in Tennessee; and Bristol City, Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Norton City, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Washington and Wise counties in Virginia.

Tri-Cities marks Locast’s 32nd market in the U.S. It claims that it has more than 2.6 million subscribers.

For more information, visit www.locast.org. 

WASHINGTON—The fight between broadcasters (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) and Locast is nearing its day in court, but the lawyers representing the broadcasters (plaintiffs) have filed a request for summary judgement with the U.S. District Court in New York as they do not believe, and provide reasoning, as to why Locast is not a non-profit entity and therefore cannot rebroadcast their signals.

Locast is a streaming service that offers local channels to consumers in a market over the internet. It was founded by David R. Goodfriend, who has claimed that the service operates as a non-profit and as such under the Copyright Act of 1976 has the right to rebroadcast these networks without paying fees to the networks. Locast does not charge a monthly fee, however it does say users can donate (generally $5) to help keep Locast running.

Currently, Locast serves 31 markets across the U.S.

The plaintiffs initially filed suit against Locast in July 2019. They believe that Locast, despite its claims as a non-profit, is little different than Aereo, another business that rebroadcast their signals and was ultimately defeated by a Supreme Court decision.

In the letter sent to U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton, the lawyers for the plaintiffs lay out three points as to why Locast does not fall under the protection of the Copyright Act of 1976.

First, they say that the exemption that Locast is using is limited to localized media, like broadcast translators and boosters, that serve viewers in the immediate vicinity, not to services that have a global reach, like they argue Locast’s internet-based service has.

They continue to make their case by arguing Locast cannot prove it does not make secondary transmissions “without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage.” The plaintiffs say that Locast uses copyrighted material to attract new members to its organization, as well as to boost its name recognition, collect data and conferring benefits on pay-TV companies that support it.

Lastly, the plaintiffs say that Locast violates the tenet that non-profits may not impose any “charge” on recipients. As mentioned, Locast does not have a monthly subscription fee, but the plaintiffs claim that after an introductory period, Locast interrupt’s a user’s TV stream every 15 minutes on a given channel with an advertisement asking for $5 per month, described as a donation; this is a tactic the plaintiffs compare to "freemium" services. If the user does not pay the $5, they are sent back to Locast’s program guide and must navigate back to the channel they were watching, per the letter. If a user pays, they then receive uninterrupted service for a month.

“[T]he court should grant summary judgement for Plaintiffs on these grounds based on the plain text, basic principles of statutory interpretation and copyright law, and the undisputed facts,” the letter reads.

In its own letter, Sports Fans Coalition NY, which is the parent company of Locast, lays out its defense of why it falls under the protection of the Copyright Act of 1976.

It claims that, as per the law, it is not a cable system, which the plaintiffs do not contest; that no individual is taking commercial advantage of the service because no one owns SFCNY; that most nonprofits partake in commercial activities in order to further their charitable mission; and that more than half of its active users do not make donations.

Both letters are available online. The plaintiffs letter here, and the defendants letter here. 

PORTLAND, Ore.—Locast continues to expand its reach across the country, announcing that it will begin serving the Portland, Ore., market on March 19. The free, over-the-internet streaming service will offer 39 local TV channels to Portland’s 3 million residents.

Locast streams local TV stations over the internet to phones, tablets, laptops or streaming devices so that even those that have cut the cord can have access to local news, storm coverage, emergency information, COVID updates, sports and entertainment programming. The launch date in Portland coincides with the start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which airs games on CBS affiliates.

As a nonprofit, Locast operates under the Copyright Act of 1976 to rebroadcast local stations without a copyright license, which has been a point of contention for broadcast networks.

Portland stations that will be available through Locast include KGW NBC 8, KPTV Fox 12, KATU ABC 2, KOIN CBS 6, PBS and PBS Kids, Telemundo, Univision, CourtTV, MeTV, The CW, HSN, ION and more, totaling 39 in the market.

Locast will be available in 27 counties in the Portland DMA, including Baker, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Crook, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jefferson, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Sherman, Tillamook, Union, Washington, Wheeler and Yamhill. The DMA also includes Washington state counties Clark, Klickitat, Skamania and Wahkiakum.

Portland is the 31st market to have the Locast streaming service, making it available to half of the U.S. population, the company says. More than 2.5 million users are registered.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

CLEVELAND—Local broadcast TV streaming service Locast is now being offered in the Cleveland market, with the ability to deliver 70 local TV channels to 4 million residents, per Locast. Cleveland also marks the 30th market that Locast is serving.

Locast delivers local TV stations via the internet to phones, tablets, laptops and streaming media devices at no cost to the consumer (though donations are welcomed). This gives consumers who may have opted to cut the cord access to their local news, storm coverage, emergency information, sports and entertainment programming.

In Cleveland, Locast is offering the market’s ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates, PBS station and more for a total of 70 channels.

The counties covered by Locast in the Cleveland market include Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas and Wayne.

Locast operates as a non-profit organization, which the company claims puts it under the Copyright Act of 1976 so they do not need a copyright license. This has been a point of contention for broadcasters.

To date, Locast has more than 2.5 million registered users across its 30 markets nationwide. Locast says that its service is available to half of the U.S. population.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Locast, a nonprofit, free local broadcast TV streaming service, has announced that it has launched in Sacramento, making 60 local TV channels available over the internet on the phone, tablet, laptop or streaming devices of more than 4 million residents in the Sacramento market.

Locast, under the Copyright Act of 1976 it says, rebroadcasts local stations, providing access to local news, storm coverage, emergency information, COVID health and safety updates, sports and entertainment programming for free (donations are asked for, but not required).

The newly launched service in the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto designated market area provides 60 local TV channels, including the local NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS stations, as well as Univision, PBS and PBS Kids, Azteca America, CourtTV, Mystery, MeTV, TrueCrime, QUBO, Telemundo, The CW, MyNetworkTV, ION and more.

Sixteen counties in the Sacramento DMA will have access to Locast, including Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sierra, Solano East, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba.

Sacramento is the 29th market where Locast is available. The nonprofit says that it currently has more than 2.3 million registered users.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

ORLANDO, Fla.—Locast, the free local broadcast TV streaming service, has launched for the Orlando TV market, making more than 70 local TV channels available to the market’s more than four million residents over the internet.

Locast delivers streams of local TV stations via the internet onto phones, tablets, laptops or streaming media devices at no cost so that viewers in the markets it serves can have access to local news, storm coverage, emergency information, health and safety updates, sports and entertainment. Locast is able to do this as a nonprofit, under the Copyright Act of 1976.

The launch of Locast in the Orlando market comes ahead of the NFL’s conference championship games taking place on Jan. 24, which will include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Green Bay Packers. The other game is the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Buffalo Bills.

Locast will be accessible to viewers in nine counties in the Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne DMA, including Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia.

Orlando is the fourth Florida market to offer Locast. The service previously launched in Miami, Tampa Bay and West Palm Beach. Locast is now available 28 markets across the country.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

MADISON, Wis.—Locast is ready to serve TV viewers in Wisconsin, as the free, local broadcast TV digital translator streaming service is now officially available to more than 650,000 residents in the Madison, Wis., TV market.

Locast will provide more than 30 local TV channels to viewers in the Madison area over the internet to phones, tablets, laptops or streaming media devices. This will include Fox Channel 47, which will carry the Green Bay Packers playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 16.

David Goodfriend, the founder of Locast, is originally from Madison. 

“I’m proud to bring Locast to my hometown and provide greater access to local TV channels and our Packers as they battle their way through the playoffs,” he said.

Locast is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide viewers access to their local news, storm coverage, emergency information, election coverage, sports and entertainment for free. It claims that it is able to do so under the Copyright Act of 1976.

Locast’s main audience is cord-cutters who cancel their pay-TV subscriptions and cord-nevers who are looking for access to their local channels.

Viewers in 11 Madison DMA counties will be able to sign up for Locast, including Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Juneau, Lafayette, Marquette, Richland, Rock and Sauk.

Locast now operates in 26 markets and says it has more than 2 million registered users. The company said it added more than 1 million users in 2020.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

NEW YORK—The Locast broadcast TV streaming service has debuted in the Indianapolis market, offering more than 40 local channels for free over the internet.

Locast is a nonprofit service that provides access to local TV channels so viewers can have access to news, storm coverage, emergency information, election coverage and more local-focused programming over internet-connected devices, including their phones, tablets, laptops and streaming devices.

For the Indianapolis area—including Bloomington, Kokomo and Munice—42 local TV channels are available through Locast, including ABC 6, NBC 13, CBS 4, Fox 59, PBS, PBS Kids, Telemundo and more. The service is available to more than 3 million Indianapolis and surrounding area residents, according to Locast.

Locast operates under the Copyright Act of 1976 that allows nonprofit translator services to broadcast local stations without receiving a copyright license from the broadcaster. This stance has been challenged, with ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox filing a lawsuit against Locast arguing that it is not a nonprofit. Locast founder and Chairman David Goodfriend believes the streamer is likely to prevail in the court.

Indianapolis is the 24th U.S. TV market were Locast is available. Locast says it has 1.7 million users, but it is available to 148 million viewers.

Updated 10/29: Locast announced additional deployments in Wilkes Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania, reaching an additional 1.5 million potential users.

NEW YORK—As wildfires in the western U.S. continue to rage, Locast has announced a new program to those impacted by the fires that will allow them to access local TV totally free.

A non-profit local TV streaming service, Locast provides access to local news, including news critical in emergency situations like the wildfire, to viewers with online and mobile access.

Locast says that it will offer interruption-free streaming TV service for 30 days for registered users unable to pay the typical $5 per month voluntary donation for Locast’s services. Affected Locast users—particularly those around Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver—can submit a request for a one-time waiver by emailing admin@locast.org.

“Locast is here for you,” said Locast founder and Chairman David Goodfriend. “If you have lost your home or are just going through tough times, please send us an email and we’ll give you a month of interruption-free service.”

For more information, visit www.locast.org. 

DETROIT—Local broadcast TV streaming service Locast has planted its flag in Detroit, announcing that it is now delivering more than 65 channels for free over the internet to the Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mich., TV markets.

Locast is a nonprofit organization that provides free access to local channels so viewers can get news, emergency information, election coverage, sports and entertainment programming. It says it is able to provide these channels for free because of the Copyright Act of 1976 allowing for the rebroadcast of local stations without a copyright license. This is a point of contention among broadcasters, who are currently suing Locast.

The new Detroit setup includes 66 TV channels and is available to viewers in nine counties in the Detroit DMA, including Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne.

These channels are available in HD via the Locast app or website on internet-connected devices. In addition, Locast is available on Dish Hopper/Wally receivers, select DirecTV receivers, TiVo and with streaming service providers Google Play, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon and Roku.

Detroit is the 23 U.S. TV market that Locast is serving, representing more than 145 million viewers, or 43% of the U.S. population, according to the nonprofit. To date, Locast reports it has more than 1.5 million users.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

MINNEAPOLIS—Locast has planted its flag in the Twin Cities, announcing that the nonprofit local broadcast TV streaming service is now available for viewers in Minneapolis and St. Paul markets.

Locast is a free streaming service that offers local TV channels to viewers over streaming. For more than 50 counties in the Minneapolis-St. Paul DMA, as well as seven counties in western Wisconsin, Locast offers 48 local TV channels that provide local news, storm coverage, emergency information, election coverage, sports and entertainment programming to internet-connected devices. Locast estimates that more than 4 million Minnesotans now have access to Locast.

Minneapolis-St. Paul becomes the 22 TV market in the U.S. to add Locast services, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and more. Locast says its services are available to 139 million viewers, roughly 42% of the population, and that it currently has more than 1.4 million users.

The legality of Locast, which is not paying any fees to share these local channels, is being challenged by major broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, though Locast founder and Chairman David Goodfriend remains confident that Locast is protected as a nonprofit under the Copyright Act of 1976.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

MIAMI—Locast has announced that viewers in South Florida are now being given free local TV access over the internet through its TV streaming service. Locast will be available in the Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Fla., TV markets, which has 6.8 million TV viewers, per Locast.

Through the Locast service, local viewers can tune into local TV channels on their mobile and streaming devices to stay informed of local news, emergency information, election coverage, sports and entertainment.

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA viewers will have access to more than 40 local channels. West Palm Beach viewers will have 28 channels. English and Spanish-language channels will be available.

Locast is a nonprofit that provides free access to local TV channels, while asking for donations to maintain operations. To date, it serves 21 U.S. markets and has more than 1.4 million users, it reports.

Locast says that it is able to provide these channels for free under the Copyright Act of 1976, which allows nonprofit translators to rebroadcast local TV stations without a copyright license. However, this stance is being challenged in court by the major broadcasters, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

TAMPA, Fla.—Locast, a nonprofit streaming provider of local broadcast TV, has added Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Fla., to its list of TV markets where it is available. Locast says that it will offer more than 45 local TV channels for free via the internet for viewers in these areas.

Locast’s goal is to provide access to important local news and other information. For the Tampa market that includes hurricane and storm coverage as hurricane season officially begins and updates on the coronavirus pandemic as beaches re-open in Florida.

The more than 3 million viewers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market will be able to watch local TV content for free through the Locast app or website, available as long as local TV stations continue to broadcast, said David Goodfriend, Locast founder and chairman.

The addition of the Tampa market brings Locast’s total number of markets served to 19 in the U.S., with more than 1 million reported users.

Locast is still in the middle of a lawsuit over its ability to stream local TV channels for free. Locast maintains that it is able to rebroadcast local stations without a copyright license from broadcasters because of the Copyright Act of 1976 provision for nonprofit translator services. However, the major networks—ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC—are challenging Locast on this argument. Goodfriend ultimately believes that Locast will prevail in court.

For more information on Locast, visit www.locast.org.  

NEW YORK—Locast founder and chairman David Goodfriend says he’s now “very optimistic” that his broadcast signal streaming platform won’t go down in court the same way Aereo did eight years ago. 

“We’re very likely to prevail in our court case,” the former FCC legal adviser and Dish Network attorney said today during his Virtual NYC TV Week Spring keynote, an event produced by Next TV’s parent company, Future Media. 

Goodfriend, opening a session of the Virtual Next TV Summit, specifically noted the announcement in late March by international digital rights nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) that it would join legal forces with Locast to fight a copyright suit filed against the streaming service by Disney, Fox, Comcast and ViacomCBS, the media companies behind the Big Four broadcast networks. 

Locast is now serving the top 10 U.S. designated marketing areas (DMAs) and reaching 40% of U.S. TV homes, offering “free” streaming of local broadcast stations with what Goodfriend calls an “NPR model”—the service requests at regular 15-minute viewing intervals that users make voluntary $5 monthly donations. 

Goodfriend didn’t specify how much in the way of voluntary donations Locast has received to date. But he said the contributions have been ample enough to sustain the service. 

Goodfriend used his keynote to once again hammer home Locast’s mission: to provide a service that is now more essential than ever during the pandemic, delivering vital broadcast information to citizens who either can’t receive over-the-air broadcast signals or can’t afford to receive them due to rising costs of pay TV services.

With the pandemic, he said, “Suddenly, Locast has taken on a need that’s even more profound than when we started.” 

Streaming services that take local over-the-air signals and stream them over the open internet have been struck down in court before. Most notably, entrepreneur Chet Kanojia’s Aereo was obliterated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012. 

During his keynote, Goodfriend took time to explain what he feels is Locast’s key differentiating legal high ground—it’s a nonprofit, with solid footing on a carveout created by Congress in the 1976 Copyright Act. 

“We have put the profit motive above all else,” Goodfriend said. “We put the profit motive above in healthcare, and we’ve put the profit motive avow in entertainment and media. And it’s gotten out of hand.”

Goodfriend read a letter from he said he recently received from a user, who described Locast as an essential lifeline to vital broadcast TV services the writer could not otherwise afford. The letter was attached to a $5 contribution. 

“When the court hears our story, and it hears it directly from the American people, I’m confident we’re going to win,” he said. 

SAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has joined the defense team for Locast streaming service in the copyright lawsuit being levied by major broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

The quartet of broadcasters filed suit against Sports Fans Coalition NY Inc., the nonprofit organization that runs Locast, last year. They claim that Locast, which provides free, local over-the-air programming to viewers, is violating the copyright they have for this programming. Locast, however, claims it is covered by an exemption in copyright law that allows nonprofits to retransmit broadcast TV so communities can access local stations offering news, foreign-language programming and local sports because they are noncommercial, using donations to cover its costs.

EFF is now joining the lawsuit as co-counsel for Locast with the Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe lawfirm. The EFF says that it has a long history in defending copyright law and that defending the ability to stream local TV broadcasts is part of its goal.

“Broadcast TV is a vital source of local news and cultural programming for millions of people, which matters now more than ever because of COVID-19,” said Mitch Stoltz, EFF senior staff attorney. “But some broadcasters want to use copyright law to control when, where and how people can receive their local TV broadcasts, and force people to buy expensive pay-TV services just to get their local news and sports.”

Locast is currently operating in 17 cities and has more than a million users.

NEW YORK—Locast is making an effort to ensure that people have access to critical local broadcasts during the coronavirus pandemic through a new emergency program. For those not able to contribute $5 per month for the nonprofit local TV streaming service, they can still receive 30 days of “interruption-free service.”

“If you currently do not contribute to Locast, need the uninterrupted service and cannot afford to contribute $5 per month, send us an email and we’ll give you interruption-free service for 30 days,” said David Goodfriend, Locast founder and chairman. “Your local broadcast TV stations can provide exactly the kind of local emergency news and public health information you need to help slow the spread of coronavirus and keep yourself, your friends and family safe.”

Locast provides viewers with free online access to local broadcast TV stations in a designated market. Locast is currently available in 17 U.S. cities and reportedly reaches 41 million viewers.

This has been a point of contention for the major broadcast networks, which jointly sued Locast in 2019.

To find out more about Locast’s emergency program, viewers should email admin@locast.org.  

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—Locast continues to expand its reach, announcing that it plans to provide its service of streaming local TV channels for free over the internet to Puerto Rican viewers sometime in the coming months.

Puerto Rico communication services have been dealing with difficult circumstances in recent years due to a number of natural disasters that have hit the U.S. territory. Locast founder and chairman David Goodfriend said Locast can assist during these times by delivering local TV to multiple devices over the internet, even if other communication infrastructures are down.

“As long as local TV stations are broadcasting, Locast can become a lifeline to the 78 municipalities in Puerto Rico during emergency response and disaster relief efforts,” Goodfriend said.

No official launch date has been set for Locast in Puerto Rico, but it is expected to become available sometime in 2020.

Locast provides its services to 17 U.S. cities. Puerto Rico would be its first location outside of the continental U.S.

Locast, which recognizes itself as a nonprofit that operates under the Copyright Act of 1976, allowing it to distribute content from local TV stations, is currently in the midst of a lawsuit from major networks ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC challenging its nonprofit status and right to rebroadcast their content. 

NEW YORK—Locast, the non-profit streaming service that offers local TV channels to viewers at no cost, is calling on the U.S. people to help fight the major broadcasters angling to shut it down by launching a GoFundMe page to raise legal funds.

In July 2019, the parent companies of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC filed a lawsuit in New York arguing that Locast does not fall under the copyright provision from the Copyright Act of 1976 that allows non-profit translator services to rebroadcast local stations without a copyright license from the broadcasters.

“Locast is not a public service devoted to viewers whose reception is affected by tall buildings. Nor is Locast acting for the benefit of consumers who, according to Locast when promoting its purportedly free service, ‘pay too much,’” the lawsuit reads. “Locast is not the Robin Hood of television; instead, Locast’s founding, funding and operations reveal its decidedly commercial purposes.”

Locast followed by countersuing, accusing the group of illegal collusion to undermine them.

While the case is ongoing, the courts have allowed Locast to continue streaming local broadcast channels where it is operational. It has also added additional markets in the months since the lawsuit, including in Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle.

“What Disney and the giant broadcasters don’t want the public to know is that they are attacking a tiny non-profit serving the public interest with free local broadcast channels over the internet, and that these companies just want to protect their billions of dollars in profits and fees for channels that are supposed to be free to the public in the first place,” said David Goodfriend, Locast founder. “Now that technology can deliver local broadcast channels over the internet without costing consumers an arm and a leg, Disney and these huge broadcasters will go to any length to shut us down, including through baseless claims, using expensive New York City and Washington, D.C., law firms.”

Locast launched the GoFundMe page on Dec. 18. To date it has raised $9,759 of its $500,000 goal from more than 300 donors.

SEATTLE—Locast is now servicing another market, announcing that it has launched in Seattle, covering the Seattle-Tacoma DMA. This is the 16th market to add Locast services.

“November tends to be the rainiest month of the year in Seattle, so local weather reports mean more to commuters, families and business travelers right now,” said David Goodfriend, founder of Locast. “Here’s a forecast for our friends in Seattle: expect more rain, but better access to your local news, weather and other critical information with Locast.”

Locast is a nonprofit service launched by the Sports Fan Coalition that rebroadcasts local stations for free in an effort to ensure that viewers do not lose access to the critical information and programming offered by their local channels during potential blackouts that stem from retransmission disputes. It is able to do this due to copyright statute that exempts nonprofits from needing a license from broadcasters.

However, Locast’s claim as a nonprofit is up for debate as the four major broadcasters have filed a lawsuit saying that Locast is not eligible for that copyright exemption, making the argument that Locast is commercially-driven.

Despite the lawsuit, Locast is continuing its expansion. This announcement follows one just a few weeks ago that the service launched in Atlanta and Phoenix, and Goodfriend says they hope to provide Locast to the top 20 markets by the end of the year, while aiming to eventually roll it out to all 210 markets.

NEW YORK—Locast, the free TV station streaming service, has added two more markets, Atlanta and Phoenix, bringing its total to 15 markets where broadband users can watch local TV station signals over-the-top for free, though Locast asks for a donation.

Broadcasters have sued Locast over the service, which relies on an exception for nonprofits in copyright law to stream the stations without asking their permission or negotiating a fee for carriage.

Locast was launched by the Sports Fans Coalition in part as a way to give viewers access to sports programming during retrans blackouts—via a copyright exemption for nonprofits that retransmit TV-station signals, like the translators that extend TV station signals to hard-to-reach areas.

Obviously, alternative ways for MVPDs to get stations that don’t involve going to the local bar or switching to an antenna reduces broadcasters’ leverage in retrans negotiations. For example, AT&T, during its recent impasse with Sinclair, suggested Locast as an alternative to stations blacked out by Sinclair.

In their suit, network lawyers say Locast is nothing like the TV translators it purported to resemble. “Locast is not a public service devoted to viewers whose reception is affected by tall building[s] … Instead, Locast’s founding, funding and operations reveal its decidedly commercial purposes,” they said.

Locast said it will add more markets before the end of the year, and if it can raise enough via donations, all 210 markets eventually.

NEW YORK—In its official filing of counterclaims to the lawsuit brought about by broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC in July, David R. Goodfriend and Sports Fans Coalition NY Inc.—the stand-ins for the Locast streaming service—make the argument that the plaintiffs have “colluded and misused copyrights” to increase their profits and are now improperly going after a protected non-profit to avoid damage to their bottom line.

Locast, which was founded in January 2018, describes itself as a non-profit service that provides access to local broadcast stations’ content at no charge to its subscribers, citing the 1976 Copyright Act as to why they do not need to pay for the programming. The original lawsuit challenges this claim.

In its counterclaim, Locast alleges that the plaintiff’s claims are “objectively baseless and constitute an unlawful sham.” It says that it fits the description of a non-profit organization protected under section 17 U.S.C. § 111(a)(5) of the Copyright Act; that the claims against Goodfriend are impermissible as her serves SFCNY without compensation; and that the lawsuit is being used as an intimidation factor to shutter the Locast service, as broadcasters waited a year-and-a-half after the services launch to file any claims.

“Plaintiffs have colluded to limit the reasonable public access to the over-the-air signals that they are statutorily required to make available for free, and have opted instead to use their copyright improperly to construct a pay-TV model that forces consumers to forgo over-the-air programming or to pay cable, satellite and online providers for access to programming that was intended to be free,” Locast writes in the filing.

“The pay-TV providers get rich. Plantiffs get rich. The public gets fleeced.”

The counterclaim states that the plaintiffs are essentially confirming this argument in their original lawsuit when they say that Locast “is devaluing their consent rights.”

Locast also describes that the lawsuit has damaged both the reputation for Goodfriend and impacted business dealings and support from potential donors. According to a New York Times report, Locast claims the broadcasters have threatened "business retaliation" against entities that consider working with Locast.

Prior to the lawsuit being filed in July, AT&T had donated $500,000 to Locast and integrated in into DirecTV boxes.

No response has yet been given by the broadcasters to the counterclaims.

Here is the full counterclaim filed in the U.S. District Court—Southern District of New York.

NEW YORK—Locast has added TiVo to the list of platforms for which there is already a Locast app for that. Those include Apple iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, Amazon Firestick, Hopper, DirecTV and "multiple web browser platforms.”

Locast is the over-the-top (OTT) service that streams TV stations without having to negotiate with the station for carriage or pay a license fee. It uses a provision of copyright law that allows nonprofits to re-broadcast local stations.

“Access to local broadcast TV is important,” said David Goodfriend, chairman of the Sports Fans Coalition of New York, the nonprofit running Locast. “As proven by the local weather and emergency information disseminated during Hurricane Dorian, Americans rely on their local broadcast TV stations and their mobile wireless devices to receive valuable safety and public information. With Locast, critical information on broadcast TV is available anytime, anywhere to the public on numerous platforms, now including TiVo.”

Locast launched on Jan. 11, 2018. It is currently delivering most local TV stations to online viewers in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Boston, Washington, D.C., Denver, Baltimore, Sioux Falls, S.D, and Rapid City, S.D.

After remaining relatively quiet about the service, the Big Four broadcast nets filed suit against Locast in July, saying it was a commercial service in noncom's clothing. 

NEW YORK—The free streaming platform Locast, which has argued that its operation as a non-profit allows it to provide its customers with local station broadcasts without paying a copyright fee or getting permission from broadcasters, is being challenged on that claim. Major broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are serving as plaintiffs in a copyright lawsuit filed Wednesday, July 31, against Locast, specifically the streaming services founder David R. Goodfriend and the Sports Fan Coalition.

Since its founding in 2018, Locast has reportedly acquired tens of thousands of subscribers and is being offered in 13 cities and to 35 million households, representing 31% of the U.S. market. The basis of Locast’s premise of offering retransmissions of broadcast stations at no cost is from the 1976 Copyright Act, which in part was adopted to support non-profit services.

However, through its lawsuit, the broadcasters are arguing that providers must have a license to retransmit copyrighted television programming. Locast does not and therefore its retransmission of content violates their public performance rights, the lawsuit claims.

“Locast is nothing like the local booster services contemplated by Congress in creating this narrow exemption,” the lawsuit reads. “Locast is not a public service devoted to viewers whose reception is affected by tall buildings. Nor is Locast acting for the benefit of consumers who, according to Locast when promoting its purportedly free service, ‘pay too much.’ Locast is not the Robin Hood of television; instead, Locast’s founding, funding and operations reveal its decidedly commercial purposes.”

“Nor is Locast in any respect limited to enhancing the local reception of over-the-air broadcast signals,” the complaint continues. “Defendants’ Locast service allows registered users to access plaintiffs’ copyrighted programming via internet-connected devices, including television sets, laptops, smartphones and tablets. Defendants streams plaintiffs’ programming over the internet 24 hours a day, every day, without authorization, potentially to anyone in the world with an internet connection. And unlike legitimate booster and translator stations, Locast does not have the permission to broadcast stations it retransmits, in New York or anywhere else.”

In comments reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Gerson Zweifach, a partner of Williams & Connelly, which is representing the plaintiffs, compared Locast to Aereo, the service that allowed for live viewing of OTA television on internet-connected devices that was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2014. “Locast is simply Aereo 2.0, a business built illegally on using broadcaster content,” Zweifach said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

In recent months, Locast received a $500,000 investment from AT&T while it has also been expanding into additional markets, including Los Angeles and San Francisco in June.

The NAB came out in support of the lawsuit, releasing a statement credited to NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton that reads: “NAB wholeheartedly backs today’s lawsuit against Locast. This firm is thinly disguised as a not-for-profit entity that mirrors failed predecessors Aereo and FilmOn in its bid to legitimize the theft of local TV broadcast signals.”

David Hosp, Locast's outside counsel, released the following statement:

"Locast is an independent, non-profit organization that provides a public service retransmitting free over-the-air broadcasts. Its activities are expressly permitted under the Copyright Act. The fact that no broadcasters have previously filed suit for more than a year and a half suggests that they recognize this. We look forward to defending our claims—and the public's right to receive transmissions broadcast over the airwaves—in the litigation."

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—The group behind the Locast app that retransmits network O&O and other local broadcast signals over the top via the internet in geo-fenced markets will benefit from a $500,000 donation from AT&T.

AT&T said today it was donating the money to non-profit advocacy group Sports Fans Coalition NY (SFCNY) to support the group’s mission of making free broadcast content available to consumers and to give them more choices in how to access it.

Locast retransmits broadcast signals via the internet without running afoul of copyright restrictions because of an exemption permitting signals to be retransmitted if the entity involved does not make a profit, according to a report by John Eggerton in TVTechnology’s sister publication B&C. The carve-out is the same exemption used by TV translators to extend the reach of television stations in remote parts of the country.

Currently, Locast is available in 13 cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, Houston, Boston, Denver, Baltimore and Rapid City and Sioux Falls, S.D. AT&T added the app to its DIRECTV and U-verse receivers in May.

SFCNY, a New York-based non-profit, began in 2017. In January 2018, it launched Locast in New York City and has added a city every other month over the past 18 months. While currently available to 32 million users, Locast aims to cover the entire country through private donations. 

NEW YORK—The free, non-profit online TV station streaming service Locast has added a pair of major markets to its offerings, announcing that its services are launching in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Using a legal carveout for non-profit retransmissions, Locast will be able to provide streams of more than 80 local stations between the two markets to users phones, tablets, computers and other smart devices. Locast says that it is now available in 13 cities and 35 million homes, representing 31% of the U.S. market.

For the full story, read TVT's sister publication B&C's website.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—AT&T is rolling out a new feature for its DirecTV and U-Verse streaming service customers, the Locast interactive app.

Locast is a non-profit, free over-the-air service that streams local TV station’s signals without payment or permission. It operates under a provision in the Copyright Act that permits secondary transmission by a non-profit that doesn’t charge its consumers.

As a result, broadband-connected receivers with DirecTV and U-Verse in markets where Locast operates will now be able to access their local ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and other broadcast stations streamed via the internet. Locast markets include New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Houston, Boston, Denver and Baltimore.

AT&T says that it will still offer its complimentary Local Channel Connector service when a local station is unavailable.

Just in time for the Super Bowl, online TV station streaming service Locast is announcing its expansion to two new markets--Washington and nearby Baltimore--as it expands its effort to provide free over-the-internet versions of over-the-air TV stations, a model that continues to expand in major markets unchecked by any pushback from broadcasters or TV studios or sports leagues that like to control distribution of their content.

That new Capital connection will put the service in front of lawmakers who hear it from constituents during retrans impasses, particularly ones that happen during must-have sports--football, baseball--playoffs.

In fact, recently, Charter was talking up Locast to its subscribers impacted by retransmission consent impasses. The cable operator told its Spectrum subscribers about the service in markets where Tribune Broadcasting stations had been blacked out and Locast is available, including New York, Houston, Dallas and Denver, before the parties reached a new retrans pact on Friday (Jan. 11).

“Locast is bringing the public mission of free, local broadcast to a new generation of cord-cutters and Internet-only video consumers," said David Goodfriend, chairman of the Sports Fans Coalition, which is behind the no-cost Locast effort. "With the addition of Washington, D.C, and Baltimore, Locast has now provided almost a third of U.S. television households with a way to watch local broadcast TV, even if you do not subscribe to pay-TV or cannot receive an over-the-air signal.”

Locast launched last January in New York, then added Houston and Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Boston and Philly.

To stream the TV signals without payment or permission--though Goodfriend says some independents have sought him out for carriage and provided help--Locast.org (a contraction of “local” and “broadcast”) is relying on Title 17, Chapter 1, section 111 a)5 of the Copyright Act — which, for those without a copy handy, covers exemptions from exclusive rights to broadcast transmissions. It grants that exemption if “the secondary transmission is not made by a cable system, but is made by a governmental body, or other nonprofit organization, without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage, and without charge to the recipients of the secondary transmission other than assessments necessary to defray the actual and reasonable costs of maintaining and operating the secondary transmission service.”

That is the same provision under which TV translators already boost broadcast signals, Goodfriend pointed out when the service launched, saying it should not matter what the technology is. They are a nonprofit taking a broadcast signal and retransmitting it, period, he says.

Locast asks for a donation to help defray expenses, which it says squares with the law, but it can't turn a profit or charge a sub fee.

Locast, which is providing free over-the-top access to New York TV station over-the-air signals, is expanding, a move that could finally draw a response from broadcasters, sports leagues or studios, who have yet to respond legally or otherwise.

The service launched in January in New York without the knowledge or consent of, or compensation to, the 13 TV stations, including stations owned by the Big Four networks, whose signals it is delivering free to fixed and mobile broadband devices.

Locast launched Aug. 2 in Dallas and says it will add three other top-10 markets as it rolls out nationally.

Locast backer Sports Fans Coalition also says it has launched a new interface and an Android app.

“Broadcast TV since its inception was supposed to be free and available to the public, especially during football season, when every local professional game is on broadcast,” said SFCNY chair David Goodfriend of the expansion. “Dallas is football country and this fall, Dallas fans will be able to watch their home team online for free,” said Goodfriend. “Texas taxpayers helped to pay for the stadiums, roads, ramps, and rights-of-way that make the games possible; they own the public airwaves that carry the games on TV; and they deserve to watch their home."