DirecTV wants to use Locast as a weapon when there is a contract dispute with local TV stations. That is why they put their app on the receiver in the first place. They also gave $500,000 to Locast to weaken the bargaining power of CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.
When there is no contract dispute DTV apparently wants to discourage its use. Roku works okay live but I want to be able record some of the programs and only the Genie can do that.
If DTV were smart, they would give us the option not to use them for Locals and let Locast supply them for $5 a month. Locast gets the locals and diginets for free. DirecTV has to pay very high carriage fees which go higher every year. The networks threaten costly blackouts when they dicker for fee increases.