Nonprofit TV Service Locast Accuses Big Four Broadcasters Of Collusion

from the dysfunction-junction dept

Locast, a New York based nonprofit that offers viewers access to over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts via the internet, has accused the big four broadcast networks of colluding to restrict consumer access to those broadcasts. As we noted recently, Locast was custom built to test the copyright legal minefiled created in the wake of the Aereo ruling, which made made numerous dubious assumptions and provided zero guidance for companies that wanted to enter the space but comply with the law. Enter former FCC lawyer and media executive David Goodfriend, who effectively created Locast specifically in the hopes the industry would sue.

Last month Goodfriend got his wish, with ABC, CBS, Comcast/NBC, and Fox all filing suit, claiming the video nonprofit (which currently offers the service in 13 markets) is "illegally using broadcaster content." Locast in turn has now responded in a court filing (pdf), alleging that the broadcast networks have unfairly colluded to restrict public access to OTA broadcasts:

Plaintiffs have colluded to limit the reasonable public access to the over-the-air signals that they are statutorily required to make available for free, and have opted instead to use their copyrights improperly to construct and protect a pay-TV model that forces consumers to forgo over-the-air programming or to pay cable, satellite, and online providers for access to programming that was intended to be free. A large portion of the fees paid by the public is then handed over to Plaintiffs in the form of retransmission consent fees.

Broadcast TV networks are available using both an inexpensive antenna and airwaves that are technically owned by the public. But, given broadcast networks collected $10.1 billion in retransmission fees for these channels in 2018 from cable TV operators looking to include them in their cable lineups, they're obviously not keen on outfits looking to disrupt their profitable, existing models. Locast currently streams these channels in 13 markets but doesn't charge users for access, only taking donations as a nonprofit. Its lawyers say the existing broadcast model is little more than a complicated con:

This is classic copyright abuse. By limiting access to the over-the-air signals that Plaintiffs have committed to make freely available, and simultaneously using the copyrights in their programming to drive revenue for the local programming that consumers cannot now effectively receive over the air through their pay-TV model, Plaintiffs have colluded and misused copyrights to expand their market power beyond what those copyrights were intended to protect. The payTV providers get rich. Plaintiffs get rich. The public gets fleeced.

In addition to engaging in what Locast's lawyers call a "a sham copyright infringement claim," they state that the broadcast networks have been working in concert to threaten retaliation against any additional partners beyond AT&T and Dish:

Plaintiffs’ bad faith litigation is part of a broader coordinated campaign to undermine Defendants’ business dealings and chill financial support among potential donors, including with direct threats of retaliation or baseless litigation against them. These threats have harmed competition and will continue to do so until stopped by this Court.

The broadcasters' lawsuit was filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Sports Fans Coalition New York (SFCNY), the organization that technically runs Locast. The broadcasters continue to argue that the outfit is not only illegal, but that it's not eligible for non-profit status because it's funded, in part, by Dish and AT&T, two companies both trying to make inroads in the streaming TV space.

Filed Under: antitrust, collusion, competition, copyright, david goodfriend, tv
Companies: locast

Big Four Broadcasters Sue Streaming Video Provider Locast, Claim It's 'Aereo 2.0'

from the when-at-first-you-don't-succeed dept

The nation's four biggest broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Comcast NBCUniversal and Fox) have filed suit (pdf) against a streaming video nonprofit they say is "illegally using broadcaster content." New York based Locast offers viewers access to over the air broadcasts via the internet to roughly 13 cities (about 31% of the US market). Its website notes the operation is funded by donations and that access to this content (again, already accessible for free via an antenna) should be a consumer "right" given that US consumers technically own the airwaves these programs are broadcast over.

Not too surprisingly, the big four broadcast networks disagree, something we had expected:

"Locast is simply Aereo 2.0, a business built on illegally using broadcaster content,” the lawsuit reads in part. “While it pretends to be a public service without any commercial purpose, Locast’s marketing and deep connections to AT&T and Dish make clear that it exists to serve its pay-tv patrons."

Aereo, you may recall, attempted to set up a bunch of cumbersome micro-TV antennas which it could then use to stream broadcast TV to paying subscribers. The company's technical approach was intentionally designed to be arguably ridiculous in a bid to comply with the law and a number of historically just as ridiculous copyright case rulings. The Supreme Court ultimately demolished Aereo with a dubious ruling that made numerous assumptions and provided zero guidance for companies who wanted to enter the space but comply with the law.

Enter Locast. The company was developed by former FCC lawyer and media executive David Goodfriend, who, we noted previously, designed the service entirely from the ground up in a bid to try and comply with (and test the logic of) the current legal minefield. It's funded in part by AT&T and Dish Networks. But unlike Aereo, Locast is a non-commercial entity offering access to over the air broadcasts via the internet for free. In an interesting New York Times profile piece last January (a good read to fully understand what Locast does), Goodfriend had this to say:

"We really did our homework,” he said. “We are operating under parameters that are designed to be compliant within the law."

Of course Aereo also thought it had designed a system that would comply with the nation's muddy laws on this subject, and yet here we are. Goodfriend (quite correctly) notes that the public technically owns the airwaves and that initially, over the air broadcasts were designed as a free, public good, something that's been lost in a mad scramble for cash in the years since:

"Our society got way over-commercialized in the ’40s and ’50s, when media policy was being hammered out,” he said. “As a result, we don’t have stuff for the public anymore.”

“The American people have given you something really valuable, the airways, for free,” he said, talking about the broadcasters, his eyes popping at the word “free.” Slowing down for emphasis, he added: “So shouldn’t we get something back for free? Which is great television. That’s the social contract, right?"

The difference being that Goodfriend designed Locast after teaching the Aereo case to law students at Georgetown. It's built from the ground up with a solid understanding of what happened to Aereo, and the expectation that the operation would likely be sued. Whether that matters of course will depend entirely on the Judges that hear the case. The lawsuit leans heavily on the claim that because AT&T and Dish have helped fund the project, it's little more than a ruse to help some companies avoid paying retransmission fees (ignoring that both companies pay these fees to stream this content via other services already).

This should be a very interesting one to watch.

Filed Under: airwaves, broadcast tv, copyright, david goodfriend, free, public interest, spectrum
Companies: abc, aereo, at&t, cbs, comcast, dish, fox, locast

Former FCC Official Attempts To Create An Aereo That The Supreme Court Won't Kill

from the quack-quack dept

If you've been following copyright issues for more than a few years, you surely remember Aereo, a company that attempted to set up a bunch of micro-TV antennas which it could then use to stream broadcast TV to paying subscribers. What was fascinating about Aereo was how it was set up in a manner that was positively insane to any technologist -- but was considered "necessary" to comply with the law, following a bunch of nonsensical copyright rulings from other companies trying to offer streaming TV. And, incredibly, its careful following of the rules was declared to be proof that it was trying to "get around" the rules.

And then, even more bizarre, the Supreme Court ruled against Aereo using no actually defined standard, but basically just saying that it looked too much like a cable service, so they'll call it a cable service (something I've referred to as the Supreme Court's "looks like a duck" doctrine). As we pointed out at the time, part of the problem with such a weird test is that it provided zero guidance to tech innovators who wanted to build a system within the law. Basically, the Supreme Court (or lower courts) can now decide that something "looks" too much like another system, and decide it's magically illegal... just because.

However, it appears that at least one operation is trying again with an Aereo-like approach. And once again, it's taken a very legally-focused approach. Perhaps that's because it's been set up by a lawyer, David Goodfriend, who formerly worked for the FCC (and in the media industry). The NY Times has a big article about his Locast operation, and how he's hoping to get sued to prove that his approach is legal, where Aereo's failed. The basic approach does sound quite like Aereo:

On the roof of a luxury building at the edge of Central Park, 585 feet above the concrete, a lawyer named David Goodfriend has attached a modest four-foot antenna that is a threat to the entire TV-industrial complex.

The device is there to soak up TV signals coursing through the air — content from NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS and CBS, including megahits like “This Is Us” and this Sunday’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIII. Once plucked from the ether, the content is piped through the internet and assembled into an app called Locast. It’s a streaming service, and it makes all of this network programming available to subscribers in ways that are more convenient than relying on a home antenna: It’s viewable on almost any device, at any time, in pristine quality that doesn’t cut in and out. It’s also completely free.

There are a couple of difference between Aereo and Locast, starting with the fact that Locast is offering its services for free. The second is that Locast is set up as a non-commercial entity, rather than a for-profit company (which also helps explain the "free" to subscribers bit). And it is true that copyright law is somewhat kinder to non-profits. But just barely. Goodfriend thinks he's on solid legal ground, though, to be fair, so did Aereo.

“We really did our homework,” he said. “We are operating under parameters that are designed to be compliant within the law.”

He also notes, correctly, that the whole point of over the air terrestrial broadcasts is that they're supposed to be available for free, to anyone with an antenna. That was kind of the whole point. On top of this, of course, courts have already said that it's perfectly legal to stream content that you capture legally via an antenna over the internet for viewing. The real difference here, as it was with Aereo, is just who technically owns the antenna.

“The American people have given you something really valuable, the airways, for free,” he said, talking about the broadcasters, his eyes popping at the word “free.” Slowing down for emphasis, he added: “So shouldn’t we get something back for free? Which is great television. That’s the social contract, right?”

The article further notes that Goodfriend -- who initially designed the idea of Locast while teaching the Aereo case to law students at Georgetown -- would "welcome a legal challenge" from the TV networks to prove that his approach is legal -- though it's unclear if the networks feel like going after him. The article quotes Aereo founder/CEO Chet Kanojia, who points out that the networks ignored Aereo until it raised a bunch of money from Barry Diller, and then suddenly it became worth it to sue. Goodfriend notes that he's currently chasing down funding deals, even approaching his own version of Barry Diller in Dish Network's Charlie Ergen (for whom Goodfriend used to work), but so far has not closed anything.

Assuming Locast actually does start to catch on (and a big story in the NY Times certainly will give it a pretty big bump), I would be surprised if the networks didn't eventually sue, and then we get to go through the Aereo debate all over again. Quack, quack, quack.

Filed Under: antennas, broadcast tv, copyright, david goodfriend, over the air, quacks like a duck, streaming, tv
Companies: aereo, locast