Today, the four major broadcast networks sued Locast, a not-for-profit service that streams free over-the-air broadcast TV signals to viewers at no charge, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The following statement should be attributed to Gigi Sohn:

Despite the fact that the law is crystal clear that non-profits can retransmit free over-the-air broadcast signals to Americans without incurring copyright liability, multibillion-dollar media companies are seeking to litigate Locast out of business.For over a year and a half, Locast has provided viewers who cannot otherwise get free over-the-air signals access to local news, emergency services and network programming. That’s why many small independent local broadcasters support Locast. But the big, wealthy national broadcast networks that get free use of the public’s airwaves have decided that it’s more important to further line their pockets than to ensure that all Americans get access to broadcast TV. 

Gigi Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Foundation Senior Fellow & Public Advocate. She was Senior Counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler from November 2013-December 2016. Gigi can be reached for comment at the above email or at 202-253-0876.