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A24 TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday 29 January 2019
Watching TV is free and easy with under-the-radar Locast
By TALI ARBEL ing services like YouTube
NEW YORK (AP) — You TV, DirecTV Now or Play-
canceled cable long ago. Station Vue, which offer
Your TV antenna has trash packages of TV channels,
reception for ABC. But you typically for $40 or $45 a
want to host an Oscars month. Hulu and apps from
viewing party. What to do? the likes of ABC and NBC
A newish, under-the-radar post episodes online in the
option is Locast. It's like an days after they air. Netflix
app version of a $50 anten- and Amazon Prime have
na you can get from Best whole seasons months after
Buy, and it's free and easy they're on TV.
to use. You can also buy a TV an-
For someone like me, tenna and hope for good
weaned on Netflix, Locast (free!) reception of local
is too simplistic to be a ma- stations.
jor part of my TV addiction. BUT WAIT ...
It's a stopgap, excellent the You need to live in one of
few times a year when I the seven markets where
want to watch what every- Locast has set up antennas
one else is watching, at the — Boston, Chicago, Dal-
same time they watch it. las, Denver, Houston, New
But it's useful for those who The Locast website is displayed on a computer screen, Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 in New York. York and Philadelphia. Lo-
regularly watch TV live — Associated Press cast will announce two
sports lovers, devotees of more cities Thursday. Fur-
morning shows like "Today," gets than you'd get with HOW IT WORKS Android phones. A Roku ther expansion depends on
''Bachelor" fans who live- just a TV antenna. For those Locast makes local stations app or sharing from your whether Locast can raise
tweet each episode. who don't have a TV, it's available for free, in real phone with Chromecast more money.
You don't have to pay for it, one of the easiest ways to time, online. You can watch or Apple's AirPlay lets you I've gotten used to watch-
as you do with cable, and watch over-the-air stations on its website, locast.org, or stream to the TV. ing shows at my leisure,
it's available on more gad- for free. on apps for iPhones and In New York, I get stations and Locast doesn't fit in
for ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, with that. There's no digital
CW, PBS, Univision, Tele- video recorder, or DVR, to
mundo, Ion and a handful let you watch shows later.
of others. Cable channels There's no skipping com-
like ESPN, MTV, Bravo and mercials, no binge-watch-
Fox News are not available ing, no customization, no
free on the public airwaves. recommendations of shows
You generally have to pay I'll like.
for them. For sports fans, there's a lot
You can start watching as missing. You can get base-
soon as you let Locast know ball, football and other
your location and sign in games from over-the-air
with your email or Face- channels, but no "Monday
book account. A basic TV Night Football" (on ESPN)
guide tells you what's on or the cable channels that
now and the next six days. televise hometown-team
Audio and video quality is games. For the March
good. I haven't had issues Madness college basket-
with buffering or shows not ball tournament, you'd just
loading. get the games on CBS, not
THE LANDSCAPE TNT, TBS or truTV.
The internet's abundance ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN
of video — hi, YouTube; hi, A few years ago, a startup
Netflix — has pushed mil- called Aereo tried to offer
lions to cancel cable TV local broadcast stations
and diminished the appeal over the internet. Broad-
of live television. casters sued and won,
Some people (the young) forcing Aereo to shut down
barely watch, except for in 2014.
special circumstances like Locast has been around for
the Super Bowl or the Os- about a year already and
cars. But many are still ded- may have found a legiti-
icated to "The Late Show" mate loophole because it's
each evening and as a nonprofit, as federal law
much NFL football as they says nonprofits can retrans-
can get. mit broadcasters' signals
Locast fits into a crowded without violating their rights.
field of devices and ser- The National Association of
vices aiming to replace or Broadcasters, which repre-
complement cable. There sents TV and radio stations,
are cable-like stream- declined to comment.q
