Locast

Locast is a U.S. non-profit streaming television service that allows users to view live streams of over-the-air television stations. These signals are sourced from antennas in each market it serves. Founded by attorney David Goodfriend under the banner of the Sports Fans Coalition, Locast first launched in New York City in January 2018.

Locast
DeveloperSports Fans Coalition
TypeStreaming television
Launch dateJanuary 2018
Statusactive
Websitelocast.org

The service is similar to Aereo, which operated on a commercial basis with users paying to lease individual antennas placed in nearby warehouses.[1] Aereo was shut down following a copyright infringement lawsuit by the major networks over the retransmission of their copyrighted programming without consent and compensation. Locast is intended as a test case for the proposition that a service of this nature would be legal if operated on a non-profit basis.

Locast cites an exception in United States copyright law that allows retransmission of television signals by non-commercial entities at no charge, besides those reasonably needed to maintain the service's operations (a clause that was originally intended to cover third-party translator stations owned by non-profits). Therefore, Locast does not charge a fee for accessing the service, but does interrupt programming periodically requesting donations to cover its costs. These interruptions are removed after a donation is made, with Locast recommending a minimum contribution of US$5 per-month.

In July 2019, the parent companies of the four major U.S. broadcast networks sued Locast, alleging that the service violates copyright law and arguing that the non-profit status of Locast was being undermined by its corporate backing (including several television providers promoting Locast during carriage disputes that prevent them from carrying local network stations). Locast filed a countersuit, arguing that its service complies with the aforementioned exceptions and accusing the networks of colluding to limit the availability of their programming via free-to-air means in order to protect the pay television industry.

Features

Locast is accessible via web browsers, Android and iOS apps, some set-top boxes, as well as Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, and TiVo devices, and can be cast to larger screens using AirPlay and Google Cast.[2][3] After registering, viewers are presented with a programming grid from which to select a channel. Programming is periodically interrupted to solicit for donations until one is made; the suggested minimum contribution is $5.00 plus a 50¢ processing fee per month. The service offers no recording features.[4]

History

Goodfriend was a media legal adviser to an FCC commissioner and an executive at Dish Network.[5] He conceived Locast while lecturing at Georgetown University Law Center on the demise of Aereo, which offered OTA television signals via streaming without negotiating with broadcasters for the privilege as required by the retransmission consent provision of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act. Aereo attempted to justify its legality by means of its business model, under which users leased an individual antenna typically located in a nearby warehouse. After broadcasters sued, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that the company had violated copyright law. Aereo declared bankruptcy shortly afterward. Goodfriend surmised that a non-profit organization would be exempt from the provision; Locast has become his proof of concept. "Locast" is a contraction of "local" and "broadcast".[6][7][8]

Goodfriend initially funded the service via a line of credit from an undisclosed entrepreneur.[9] The site now solicits user donations. In January 2018, Locast went online in New York as a service of the Sports Fans Coalition, a non-profit advocacy group chaired by Goodfriend.[10] The city's television stations were neither notified nor compensated.[7] Broadcast signals are received by a four-foot antenna mounted on the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Manhattan.[6] Locast has since expanded the service to other regions of the country and to Puerto Rico.[11][12]

Several television providers have directed subscribers to Locast as a way of maintaining access to programming during carriage disputes, such as Charter Communications during a January 2019 dispute with Tribune Media,[6] and iDirecTV in a July 2019 dispute affecting CBS-owned stations. Both AT&T and Dish Network have added Locast apps to their set-top boxes, including devices for DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse, and Dish via its Hopper set-top.[13][9]

In May 2019, New York Times reporter Edmund Lee wrote that Goodfriend's stated intention to quickly expand Locast nationwide "is basically a dare to the networks to take legal action against him. By giving away TV, Mr. Goodfriend is undercutting the licensing fees that major broadcasters charge the cable and satellite companies — a sum that will exceed $10 billion this year, according to the research firm Kagan S&P Global Market Intelligence. For cable customers, the traditional network channels typically add about $12 to a monthly bill."[6]

On July 31, 2019, The Walt Disney Company, CBS Corporation, NBCUniversal, and Fox Corporation – the respective parent companies of ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox – filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking a permanent injunction against Locast for infringing the copyrights of their programming by retransmitting it without permission and compensation. The suit acknowledged that there is an exception in U.S. copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 111) for retransmission of television programming by non-profits without charge or any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage (besides the costs needed to cover the operations and maintenance of the retransmitter), which was originally intended to cover over-the-air translator stations. The broadcasters maintain that Locast has undermined its non-profit status, citing Goodfriend's previous ties to Dish Network, a donation of $500,000 made by AT&T, and both companies' promotion of the Locast service as complementary to their pay television services to dodge retransmission fees.[14][15][16]

On September 27, 2019, Locast answered the claim and filed a countersuit citing the aforementioned exception. Locast argued that it does not obtain any "direct or indirect commercial advantage" from the service, and that the networks are "[using] their copyrights improperly to construct and protect 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 accused the networks of engaging in collusion to effectively require viewers to use pay television services, including intentionally using low-end equipment on station transmitters to provide signals inadequate for serving the entirety of their market, and forbidding affiliates from streaming their programming online. Locast considered these tactics a violation of the statutory mandate for broadcasters to operate in the public interest. Locast also accused the networks of "threatening business retaliation and baseless legal claims against any current or prospective donors, supporters, or business partners", specifically alleging that YouTube TV had been threatened in this manner.[17][18]

On October 25, 2019, the broadcasters filed a motion to dismiss Locast's antitrust claims, arguing that they were "an attempt to shift focus from Locast's wholesale infringement of the broadcast companies' copyrights".[19] On March 30, 2020, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced it was joining law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as defense co-counsel.[20][21]

Availability

Locast is available in 18 U.S. media markets and across Puerto Rico.[12][11]

Rank[22] Media market
1 New York City
2 Los Angeles
3 Chicago
4 Philadelphia
5 Dallas-Fort Worth
6 San Francisco
7 Washington, D.C.
8 Houston
9 Boston
10 Atlanta
11 Phoenix
12 Tampa Bay
13 Seattle
17 Denver
26 Baltimore
113 Sioux Falls
148 Sioux City
169 Rapid City

References
  1. Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (2013-11-22). "Finally, a Company That's Really, Truly Both Innovative and Disruptive". Inc.com. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  2. "FAQs". Locast. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  3. Barnes, Jess (2019-09-25). "Locast Launches a TiVo App". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  4. Krasnoff, Barbara (2019-02-25). "Locast review: Free local programming with a catch". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  5. Goodfriend, David. "David Goodfriend Profile". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  6. Lee, Edmund (2019-01-31). "Locast, a Free App Streaming Network TV, Would Love to Get Sued". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  7. Eggerton, John. "Nonprofit Launches NY TV Station Streaming Service". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  8. Moskovciak, Matthew. "Aereo brings over-the-air TV to the cloud". CNET. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  9. FitzGerald, Drew (July 1, 2019). "Streaming Service Challenges Broadcasters with Free TV Feeds". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  10. Jan 11, 2018; Reactions, 3. "Bringing the Public Interest Back to Sports". Sports Fans Coalition. Retrieved 2019-06-01.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. "Locast now streaming local TV channels in Puerto Rico" (Press release). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Locast. Globe Newswire. April 14, 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  12. "Markets". Locast. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  13. Al-Heeti, Abrar (May 31, 2019). "AT&T adding broadcast TV app Locast to DirecTV, U-Verse". CNET. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  14. Arbel, Tali (July 31, 2019). "ABC, CBS, Fox And NBC Sue Over Locast". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  15. Brodkin, Jon (July 31, 2019). "TV networks sue nonprofit to kill free TV service". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  16. AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANIES, INC., et. al. v. DAVID R. GOODFRIEND and SPORTS FANS COALITION NY, INC. (UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK July 31, 2019). Text
  17. Brodkin, Jon (2019-09-27). "Nonprofit fights TV networks in court to keep free TV service alive". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  18. Lee, Edmund (2019-09-27). "Locast, a Free Streaming Service, Sues ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  19. Davis, Wendy (October 29, 2019). "Broadcasters Urge Judge To Throw Out Locast's Antitrust Claims". MediaPost. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  20. March 2020, Michael Balderston 31. "EFF Sides With Locast in Copyright Case". TVTechnology. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  21. "EFF Joins Locast Defense Team to Fight for TV Viewers' Right to Use Free, Legal Streaming Service". Electronic Frontier Foundation (Press release). 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  22. "Nielsen DMA Rankings 2020". MediaTracks Communications. Retrieved 2019-12-07.

See also
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