The TV broadcast service Locast TV pursued by ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox

Four of the biggest names in audiovisual television – ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox – have filed a lawsuit against Locast, a small television streaming service that broadcasts live local stations for free.

According to television stations filed a lawsuit in federal court to close the service.

Locast is a free platform that broadcasts live broadcasts from television networks. Earlier this year, David Goodfriend, founder of Locast, said the service had more than 60,000 people. It is currently available in 13 major cities, such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The legal issue between Locast and the television networks recalls that between the networks and a similar service. In a case that was referred to the US Supreme Court, Aereo violated copyright laws through its subscription service that allowed users to pay a small monthly fee to rent an individual antenna and to broadcast live broadcast networks. l & # 39; Internet.

The difference between Aereo and Locast, however, is that the latter is a non-profit organization. Considering itself as a "public service", Locast's position is that its status as a non-profit organization allows it to retransmit stations under the 1976 Copyright Act. The service works thanks to the donations of its users.

"Locast is not the Robin Hood of television," says the lawsuit, according to the WSJ. "Instead, the founding, financing and operations of Locast reveal its resolutely commercial objectives."

The streaming service has been running since January 2018 without any problem from the broadcast networks. However, according to the lawsuit, it appears that ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox are now addressing Locast, based on the service connections with AT & T and Dish Network.

In May of this year, AT & T added the Locast app to its DirecTV and U-verse decoders. The company also paid Locast $ 500,000.

Michael Kelly, former Dish executive, donated nearly $ 800,000 to Locast through his business. Dish is also promoting the streaming service to its customers. In addition, the founder of Locast, Goodfriend, has already worked as a lobbyist for the company.

"Locast is simply Aereo 2.0, a company based on the illegal use of broadcaster content," explain the networks in the lawsuit. "While claiming to be a non-commercial public service, Locast's marketing and close ties to AT & T and Dish clearly show that it exists to serve pay-TV customers."

In a statement to Dish refuses any connection to Locast.

"Dish has no more links with Locast than with over-the-air antennas, but we continue to believe that consumers have a choice to choose the reception mode of their local television channels, whether it be through retransmission via satellite or over the air. antennas or other legal means, "the statement said.

Goodfriend launched Locast as part of a non-profit group he had previously installed in the NFL to blacken local gaming shows. The FCC voted in 2014 to end the, which led the NFL to suspend its local ban policy.

It does not seem that Goodfriend will back down – this time to defend Locast – after another televised battle.