Free TV service Locast suspends operations after legal loss

By TALI ARBEL
AP Technology Writer

Locast, a service that streamed local TV for free in about three dozen U.S. cities, is suspending operations after losses in court against the broadcast industry. The owners of the country’s major broadcast TV networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — had sued Locast in 2019, saying it violated their copyrights, and asked for the service to be shut down. Locast has held that because it is a nonprofit, it found a legal loophole in copyright law. But a federal judge in New York ruled Tuesday that Locast isn’t protected by that exemption. It has about 3 million users.