Locast brings free streaming TV to Sacramento area, including Solano County
(Courtesy image, Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
A free service that brings local television channels to Internet users has finally launched in the Sacramento broadcast market, which includes a good portion of Solano County.
Locast operates as a not-for-profit re-broadcaster of local television stations affiliated with ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and other networks, distributing these channels to Internet users who may live in areas where local reception is spotty or some channels are inaccessible on cable or satellite.
On Friday, Locast said it had selected the Sacramento area as its 29th region where it provides online access to local broadcast television. The service is free to access throughout the Sacramento broadcast market, which includes most of Solano County (Vallejo, Benicia and nearby rural areas are part of the San Francisco broadcast market, where Locast also operates).
“For the first time, residents in Sacramento and the greater metro area [including Solano County]…will be able to watch all of their local TV stations via the Internet on their phones, tablets, laptops, or streaming media devices,” a Locast spokesperson said in a statement sent to Solano NewsNet early Friday morning.
Starting Friday, Locast is distributing the following local TV stations to Internet users who fall within the Sacramento broadcast market:
KCRA (Channel 3, NBC)
KVIE (Channel 6, PBS)
KXTV (Channel 10, ABC)
KOVR (Channel 13, CBS)
KUVS (Channel 19, Univision)
KSPX (Channel 29, Ion)
KMAX (Channel 31, CW)
KSCO (Channel 33, Telemundo)
KTXL (Channel 40, Fox)
KQCA (Channel 58, My Network)
KTFK (Channel 64, Unimas)
The service also provides access to some fringe, low-power stations that are independent or affiliated with digital networks. Those stations can be extremely difficult for viewers in Solano County to receive with an antenna.
Locast doesn’t charge users to watch broadcast television on its service. Instead, it asks customers to donate to help cover the cost of its operations. To encourage customers donate to the service, Locast interrupts TV programming every 15 minutes with a donation request until a customer agrees to donate at least $5 a month.
Locast operates in a legal gray area, exploiting a loophole in the U.S. Copyright Act that allows not-for-profit institutions to re-broadcast local, licensed stations without needing to enter into re-transmission consent agreements like those required of cable and satellite companies.
The loophole was meant to protect universities, hospitals, schools and other organizations who wanted to distribute broadcast signals received with an antenna on a limited basis. But the Copyright Act never limited its waiver to just these not-for-profits, and Locast — which operates as a not-for-profit — has tapped into the law to distribute broadcast signals over the Internet for free since early 2018.
That’s not to say its efforts have been without challenges: A consortium of broadcasters have sued Locast, seeking to shut down the service because the company doesn’t pay for the right to re-broadcast its signals. They equate Locast to a broadcast pirate. Locast says it’s service is above the law.
It has made unlikely allies with others in the television industry: AT&T recently donated $500,000 to keep Locast afloat and began distributing a version of the Locast app on its smart-connected DirecTV and AT&T TV set-top boxes. Dish Network also supports Locast on some of its set-top boxes. Both companies have repeatedly pushed customers to use Locast when local broadcast companies have blocked out their signals on those services during carriage disputes.
In addition to some satellite boxes, Locast is available on most streaming television platforms, including Apple TV, Android TV (Google TV), Amazon Fire TV and Roku. Apps are also available for Apple iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. (Click or tap here to visit Locast’s website)
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