Locast, a free streaming app for local broadcast television, is facing a lawsuit from ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, who this week sought to have a court reject Locast’s defense.
The broadcasters sued Locast in 2019, alleging the service infringes upon exclusive rights under the Copyright Act. The lawsuit contends that Locast is not merely boosting broadcast signals for those who can’t receive them. It accuses Locast of operating with its own commercial benefit in mind as well as the commercial benefit of large pay TV operators including DirecTV and Dish Network.
In a letter sent late last week to U.S District Court Judge Louis Stanton, the broadcasters outline why they believe Locast’s defense fails. They allege that Locast’s transmissions can’t be considered local since they are delivered via the internet and argue that the fact that the service uses geo-fencing to limit its reach “only underscores that its service is not inherently localized.”
The broadcasters also argue that Locast can’t claim it doesn’t seek direct or indirect commercial advantage since it “exploits copyrighted material to attract new members who may donate to the organization.” Finally, they argue that Locast can’t claim that it’s a non-profit since the service interrupts users’ viewing every 15 minutes to request a donation and, if no donation is made, sends the user back to the program guide.
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“Here, the substance of the transaction is clear: Locast demands users pay a monthly fee in exchange for uninterrupted service. Thus, there is no genuine dispute that it imposes ‘charges.’ And those charges neither are ‘assessments’ (which are community-based charges) nor are they ‘necessary’ to defray the costs of maintaining and operating Locast’s service,” the broadcasters wrote.
The broadcasters have asked the court to prohibit Locast from operating its service, and to award damages connected to its operations.
Locast’s legal representatives also sent a letter to the court last week to argue that its service should be exempt from copyright liability since it only offers secondary transmissions, it doesn’t qualify as a cable system and it is run by Sports Fans Coalition NY, a non-profit. The organization also alleges that the broadcasters invented their claim that Locast was launched to aid Dish Network, AT&T and other pay TV providers.
“Plaintiffs have been unable to quantify or identify any specific impact on retransmission consent negotiations,” Locast wrote. “Even if they could, the bulk of evidence shows that the Locast service likely harms pay TV platforms because it encourages cord cutting…”
Locast has more than 2.5 million registered users nationwide and reaches approximately half of the U.S. population. The service said it added more than one million users in 2020. In 2019, Locast received a $500,000 donation from AT&T, which said the money was intended to assist Locast in its “mission to make free broadcast content available to consumers and offer them more choice.”