Big four US nets sue Locast over possible satellite conflict of interest
Details
Michelle Clancy
| 01 August 2019

ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, the main national broadcast networks in the US, have mounted a joint suit against Locast, a non-profit TV station streaming service.

The free-to-air networks claim that Locast, which streams local TV stations without having to pay retransmission fees, is helping satellite operators get around retransmission consent disputes.

The allegation arises from the fact that DirecTV owner AT&T donated $500,000 to Locast, and has integrated the streaming service into its DirecTV boxes. That means that subscribers can watch CBS stations, even though AT&T’s retransmission agreement with the Tiffany Network has not yet been worked out, leading to a blackout.

The suit noted that Locast was founded by a former executive of DISH Network, which is airing FOX broadcast and sports networks on a temporary extension of an expired retransmission agreement.

David Hosp, Locast outside counsel, countered: “Locast is an independent, non-profit organisation that provides a public service retransmitting free over-the-air broadcasts. Its activities are expressly permitted under the Copyright Act. The fact that no broadcasters have previously filed suit for more than a year and a half suggests that they recognize this. We look forward to defending the claims—and the public’s right to receive transmissions broadcast over the airwaves—in the litigation.”

The lawsuit was filed in Federal court in the Southern District in New York, alleging that “Locast is nothing like the local booster services contemplated by Congress in creating this narrow exemption. Locast is not a public service devoted to viewers whose reception is affected by tall building[s]... instead, Locast’s founding, funding and operations reveal its decidedly commercial purposes.”

According to the suit: “Locast provides these two major distributors with commercial benefits that include the ability to avoid obtaining retransmission consent from local stations to include local stations in their pay-TV offerings by integrating the Locast app into their customers’ set-top boxes; to gain leverage in negotiations with broadcast stations over retransmission consent rights to offer their subscribers access to broadcast channels; and for DISH, to promote a version of its Sling TV internet television service.”