David Goodfriend, founder of Locast, says that ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox “waited too long” to sue the streaming service which offers free access to local channels in select cities.
While speaking at TV of Tomorrow Show in New York today, Goodfriend also pointed out that in the case of Aereo, which is often discussed when talking about the case against Locast, a temporary restraining order was put in place to halt operations. The networks didn’t attempt to put the same hold on Locast, and Goodfriend says he believes that decision was made because the networks knew they had waited too long and the request wouldn’t have been approved.
“I think the reason they didn’t seek that TRO is that they realized full well that they had waited too long and would have lost,” Goodfriend said. “It’s hard to show irreparable harm when you’ve done nothing for a year and a half.”
According to Goodfriend, he wasn’t looking for a fight with the networks. “I want to be clear: I love broadcast TV,” he said. “I would love to be working hand in glove with the industry” he commented. He went on to say that broadcasters need to acknowledge the growth of cord cutting and work with it, rather than trying to fight against it.
The networks filed the suit against Locast last July, claiming that the service was violating their copyright by retransmitting signals of their local stations. Locast responded with a counter suit, accusing ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC of antitrust violations.
Deadline spoke with Goodfriend after the talk, when he commented that no hearings were currently scheduled for the lawsuit.
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.
Did you know we have a YouTube Channel? Every week we have a live Cord Cutting Q&A, and weekly Cord Cutting recap shows exclusively on our YouTube Channel!