Locast shuts permanently
September 17, 2021
US TV station streamer Locast has been ordered to close its operations permanently.
The service had previously been ordered to suspend all operations, but now a New York federal court has ordered a permanent injunction that bans Locast from operating.
The owners of the major broadcast networks in the US – namely ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox – had sued Locast in 2019, saying the service violated their copyrights, and demanded the service be shut down.
Locast believed it circumvented retransmission laws by being a non-profit organisation. Whilst Locast was free to use, viewers who didn’t pay $5 a month would get an ad every 15 minutes asking for a donation.
Locast will now have to win on appeal if it wishes to stream broadcast channels again