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.
