Locast announced today that it has surpassed 2.3 million registered users on its live local streaming service. Locast added over 1 million users in 2020. Locast most recently launched in Madison, Wisconsin, and “expects to announce more markets soon.”
With cable prices rising and many live TV streaming services recently seeing price hikes, cord cutters are looking for more cost effective solutions for watching TV. Locast offers local channels in select cities across the US for free. The service asks users to make a monthly donation.
“Our mission is clear: to increase accessibility and availability of free over-the-air broadcasts via the internet,” said consumer advocate David Goodfriend, chairman and founder of the nonprofit Locast. “The fast pace of our growth shows that for millions of Americans, reliable, affordable, and accessible local broadcast programming has been out of reach until now.”
Goodfriend added, “Local TV was supposed to be free and widely available. Unfortunately, either because they can’t get an over-the-air signal or can’t afford to pay for cable, satellite, or pay-TV streaming services, millions of Americans have been shut out from that promise – until now. Locast is helping to fulfill the promise of ubiquitous, free local TV by providing free local TV channels to phones, tablets, laptops or streaming media devices.”
While the service has been in a legal battle with the big four network broadcasters, Locast says it’s “confident it will prevail so it can continue its expansion into all 210 U.S. markets.” With a trial potentially on the way in the second half of 2021, Locast says that it will continue to defend itself against the claims, arguing that it provides a public service by giving viewers access to the local news, storm coverage, emergency information, election coverage, sports, and entertainment programming they have a right to receive.