A new live TV streaming service hopes to replicate and succeed what Locast previously did.
The service is called “Local TV+” and essentially allows for users currently in Boston to stream their local ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW, and PBS stations through it for free, and is accepting donations as well.
Previously, there was a live TV streaming service called “Locast” that essentially provided local TV stations such as the ones listed above and accepted donations in exchange for extra benefits like no ad breaks asking users to donate to Locast.
However, lawsuits from networks and broadcasters shut the service down entirely in September 2021.
Local TV+ has supposedly been around since August 2022 and says in a statement on its website:
“Cable is expensive and an entire generation does not know that over the air TV (NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX etc.) is free with a cheap antenna. People think it’s an illegal hack despite this being how people have gotten TV for generations. Additionally, a lot of people live in areas and homes served by these stations but do not receive a good signal due to environmental obstruction such as trees or hills. US law has a provision for this to allow non profits to retransmit the signal to resolve this issue. There was an attempt by Locast to do this recently but it was shut down not due to the retransmission, which everyone agrees was legal, but the way they monetized and used their money…LocalTV+ is an attempt to provide unmodified TV signals for certain markets in the US over the internet. It should not be necessary for people to buy expensive plans on streaming providers or go to pirate websites to watch signals that are free.”
Right now, the app for Local TV+ is available in TestFlight in a beta. There are also plans to have a tvOS Apple TV app for the service at some point as well. Along with that, there is a subreddit dedicated to the streaming service too.
What are your thoughts on a service like Local TV+? Comment below or let us know on X at @appleosophy.
