2021-09-03, 06:27
You had to know the networks would find a loophole and what they found was pretty damning. But I also seem to recall reading about the cities of Sioux City Iowa and Rapid City SD playing a hand in getting Locast to come to them and not vice versa. I'm going on memory with that and could be wrong but I think they might have something to say about the ruling.
I thought Locast had a pretty good chance until I heard what they got nailed for, that will be hard to come back from but they do have allies with the service providers who don't want to pay the giant carriage fees the networks want to charge. AT&T had gifted Locast 500k in the early days and the networks tried to make that look dodgy. The big service providers could back Locast, we'll see, but losing that first one really puts them behind the 8 ball.
From Wikipedia
On September 2, 2021, after announcing it would no longer interrupt service to request donations, Locast suspended operations. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said the ruling "demonstrates once again how giant entertainment companies use copyright to control when, where, and how people can receive their local TV broadcasts, and drive people to buy expensive pay-TV services to get their local news and sports. We are disappointed that the court is enabling this callous profiteering that tramples on Congress’s intent to ensure local communities have access to news that’s important to people regardless of their ability to pay. The court made a mistake, and Locast is considering its options."
The broadcasters called the ruling "a victory for copyright law, vindicating our claim that Locast is illegally infringing copyrights in broadcast television content in violation of federal law" and said they would seek a permanent injunction.
Locast plans to appeal the ruling to a three-judge panel in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, but does not intend to re-start the service.
I thought Locast had a pretty good chance until I heard what they got nailed for, that will be hard to come back from but they do have allies with the service providers who don't want to pay the giant carriage fees the networks want to charge. AT&T had gifted Locast 500k in the early days and the networks tried to make that look dodgy. The big service providers could back Locast, we'll see, but losing that first one really puts them behind the 8 ball.
From Wikipedia
On September 2, 2021, after announcing it would no longer interrupt service to request donations, Locast suspended operations. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said the ruling "demonstrates once again how giant entertainment companies use copyright to control when, where, and how people can receive their local TV broadcasts, and drive people to buy expensive pay-TV services to get their local news and sports. We are disappointed that the court is enabling this callous profiteering that tramples on Congress’s intent to ensure local communities have access to news that’s important to people regardless of their ability to pay. The court made a mistake, and Locast is considering its options."
The broadcasters called the ruling "a victory for copyright law, vindicating our claim that Locast is illegally infringing copyrights in broadcast television content in violation of federal law" and said they would seek a permanent injunction.
Locast plans to appeal the ruling to a three-judge panel in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, but does not intend to re-start the service.
