Free non-profit online TV streaming service Locast has expanded to Sioux City as it fights a court battle with the major networks.
Locast’s website lists 20 channels now being carried in the Sioux City market. The list includes all of the market’s major commercial network affiliates and their subchannels as well as South Dakota Public Broadcasting, but not Iowa PBS.
The service is now offered in 17 cities, including the adjacent Sioux Falls market.
Locast restricts viewing of the stations it carries to the Designated Market Areas as assigned by Nielsen Media. The Sioux City market includes most of northwestern Iowa, parts of northeastern Nebraska, and one county in southeastern South Dakota.
The stations being carried are owned by Quincy Media, Nexstar, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and SDPB.
Locast contends that it does not need permission to stream TV signals under a provision in the 1976 Copyright Act allowing non-profit TV translator systems to relay stations without consent. The major networks filed a federal lawsuit alleging that “Locast is nothing like the local booster services contemplated by Congress in creating this narrow exemption.”
Though it does not charge a fee, Locast accepts donations, including a $500,000 donation from DirecTV owner AT&T last year. Both DirecTV and DISH Network have integrated Locast into some of their receivers, potentially allowing them to continue offering network affiliates in the event of a retransmission consent dispute.