#locast

You might be too young to remember this, but TV used to be free - provided in the public interest, convenience and necessity. Then along came cable. And satellite. And Netflix. And.

As long ago as the1990’s, the networks won a provision that required providers like Comcast and Dish to negotiate a “retransmission consent” fee to carry their signals. Yes, those are the signals that used to be free.

Do you remember Aereo? In 2014, Aereo lost their Supreme Court case to pass along network transmission without a retrans agreement. Seems they had the nerve to charge the consumer a fee causing the nets to claim copyright infringement.

Enter David Goodfriend – who lawyer who is indeed a good friend to the everyman. He’s attached a 4’ antenna to suck up the TV signals from ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and PBS. Once plucked from thin air, the content is piped through the internet and assembled into an app called Locast.

Locast is a streaming service that launched in January 2019 that makes content available on most any device, at any time, in pristine, lag free quality. Oh yeah, and it’s FREE. The service has about 60,000 users in Houston. Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Denver and New York.

So, what does that mean? For openers, cable and satellite providers don’t have to haggle over fees every 3 years to carry network signals. With no haggling comes no threat of blackouts. An ultimate reduction in consumer cable fees may be too much to hope for, but heck, I’m an optimist and right now, the average customer pays about $12.00 a month for the privilege of “used to be free” TV.

Frankly, the thought of cutting the cable cord is enticing and anything that encourages folks to be cutters or nevers is a challenge to the TV landscape. All this makes Locast a gutsy start up with a modest web presence asking for donations starting at $5.00.

https://www.locast.org/

Mr. Goodfriend claims to welcome a legal challenge from the networks, their deep pockets not intimidating. He’s soliciting sponsorships and is in talks with Samsung to make Locast available on its smart TVs. Your guess is as good as mine.

What I’m understanding from this is that if you are in Houston, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas and Denver as well as New York, Washington, D.C.--because “The organization must install signal equipment in every city where it operates, because all broadcast stations are regional and retransmissions can be made only to local residents. If you live in, say, Miami, you can’t get Locast until Mr. Goodfriend puts up an antenna there”--you can get free cable right now by using Locast.

Locast, a Free App Streaming Network TV, Would Love to Get Sued

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Locast, a Free App Streaming Network TV, Would Love to Get Sued

Want to watch the Super Bowl and other network TV for free? A start-up called Locast will let you, a… NYT > Business