Locast announced Wednesday its expansion into Detroit, bringing free streaming of 66 local broadcast channels to nine counties in Michigan.
The nonprofit service now covers the Detroit DMA, including the counties of Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne.
Locast is a non-profit, app-based OTT service that now streams local broadcast channels in 23 designated marketing areas. It was founded by David Goodfriend, a former deputy staff secretary to President Bill Clinton, an ex Dish Network attorney, and previously an advisor to FCC Commissioner Susan Ness.
Also Read: Locast: Everything You Need to Know
Locast said it is able to provide local channels for free because of the Copyright Act of 1976, which allows for the rebroadcast of local stations without a copyright license. Not surprisingly, Locast is currently being challenged by the major broadcasting companies in federal court.
With the addition of its 23rd DMA, Locast said it can now reach more than 145 million viewers, or 43% of the U.S. population. To date, Locast reports it has more than 1.5 million users.
Also read: Locast Founder David Goodfriend: On the Five Spot (Q&A)
Locast is available on connected TV platforms including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices. Within the pay TV realm, the app is supported by Dish Hopper/Wally receivers, select DirecTV receivers and TiVo DVRs.
