Locast update

LocalBTV is a nice-enough streaming service, however, there's two big issues--the biggest one being there's no ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, MyTV, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, or UniMas available on there, and PBS' availability varies by market. If anything, even though LocalBTV started just before Locast did, BTV is/was more or less a complement to Locast, because the latter didn't give every subchannel that was available in your region. With BTV, you're only going to get whatever subchannels networks that are available in your market already--as an example, for the Los Angeles region (where I live), I would only get Cozi, Antenna TV, Circle, Buzzr, QVC, HSN, some Asian-languages channels, local independent KDOC, and most of the local PBS subchannels.

Secondly, LocalBTV is available in less places than where Locast was; right now, it's only available in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Phoenix, San Diego, Las Vegas Fresno, Monterey-Salinas CA, and Louisville.
I saw in a YouTube video that there possibly might be a paid version of LocalBTV that would include many of those in the future. Another issue I noticed (unless I'm somehow mistaken), once you register your location you can't change it. I signed in with my VPN to New York and put in a New York zip code, and now I can only watch New York stations on it.
 
BTV is a good service, but one reason they continue to operate as they do not deal with the big 4. I doubt very much they would ever want to deal with that. If you want some diginets, then BTV is great.

If Locast came back and dropped the big 4, they probably wouldn't have issues. So many diginets stream anyway for free like Circle, Buzzr, Comet, Charge, to name a few.
I would love to have some streaming service offer all of the popular diginets in a package. I would gladly pay $5 a month for that. Ones like METV, METV+, Decades, COZI, Comet, Charge, Buzzr, Rewind, Antenna TV, ACE TV, JLTV, Retro, etc. Many are available anyway free but they would all be in one place. Then a service can offer the pack and you can DVR the shows. That would be a dream for me.
 
There is nothing illegal about receiving TV stations from outside your DMA. Millions of OTA watchers have done it for many years.
I agree as years ago I could receive a couple of channels using my TV antenna from the next door DMA.

But when you need to hide your location to beat the GPS location detector to view those channels that is not like receiving them with a antenna. Most likely your antenna could not get them as there to far away. When you use something to deceive it that is not legal. That is cheating/stealing or something the service provider does not want you the viewer to have access to. Just like stealing service from a cable operator. These channels outside your DMA are not available to you because of your location, otherwise we could see/watch all if them an a GPS location detector would not be needed.
 
I too agree with you. All of the talk about using VPN'S to hide your location to steal programing that you were not entitled to based on one's location. Hey were talking about tv but this action also hurt Locast. I feel sure we are not the only ones that visit this site. Again I hope some how they come back. Did not intend to step on any one toes unless you should maybe feel just a little bit quilty
Not sure what you are talking about

What hurt locast was taking donations to expand service without actually expanding service fast enough..in other words they made too much profit to be considered a non profit
 
I agree as years ago I could receive a couple of channels using my TV antenna from the next door DMA.

But when you need to hide your location to beat the GPS location detector to view those channels that is not like receiving them with a antenna. Most likely your antenna could not get them as there to far away. When you use something to deceive it that is not legal. That is cheating/stealing or something the service provider does not want you the viewer to have access to. Just like stealing service from a cable operator. These channels outside your DMA are not available to you because of your location, otherwise we could see/watch all if them an a GPS location detector would not be needed.
I agree the methods used may violate some TOS rules, but I see no difference between buying OTA equipment such as amplifiers, large multi-element antennas, rotors, and towers to receive out of market channels and buying or subscribing to readily available online service enhancement products such as VPN's. The DMA structure was created by Neilsen, the ratings folks, to help advertisers better identify and target their preferred markets. DMA's have no basis in law other than the FCC choosing to use them to define restrictions on how cable and satellite companies offer local stations to their subscribers. There are no FCC DMA related restrictions on OTA and Internet reception. It's quite legal in fact, to use an app like DishAnywhere to receive my service address locals anywhere in the world I have Internet access. It's my understanding that Locast was not legally required to restrict access to DMA's since they're not covered by the FCC rule, it was only done to appease the networks, stations, and cable/sat operators. You might find the DMA history article linked below of interest. Note that DMA's can change locals, and there is no direct relationship between Neilsen and the FCC.

 
I don't know if I can ask this but can someone tell me if any vpn free or pay for that has one of their servers in Fresno California. Don't need the local big 6 ABC,CBS,NBC,CW,FOX,PBS but where I live in the east I only get 5 of the sub channels and see Freznobtv has like 7 I don't get. Location gaurd does not work so must be using ip to see where you live. Can use vpn if it has a Fresno server.
Think all the substations should be free on the net like sinclair does with their sub channels. Comet,Charge,Statium,TBD,Tennis.
 
If Locast came back and dropped the big 4, they probably wouldn't have issues. So many diginets stream anyway for free like Circle, Buzzr, Comet, Charge, to name a few.
I would love to have some streaming service offer all of the popular diginets in a package. I would gladly pay $5 a month for that. Ones like METV, METV+, Decades, COZI, Comet, Charge, Buzzr, Rewind, Antenna TV, ACE TV, JLTV, Retro, etc. Many are available anyway free but they would all be in one place. Then a service can offer the pack and you can DVR the shows. That would be a dream for me.
FYI, FrndlyTV, which is a very skinny bundle streaming service that starts at $7/mo, just added Weigel's MeTV and the just-launched Story Television diginets to their line-up today. And they'll soon be adding Heroes & Icons, Decades, and Start TV. They also carry the Get TV and Circle diginets, along with several traditional cable channels like History, A&E, Lifetime, Hallmark, Weather Channel, INSP, Game Show Network, etc.

 
Since they are carrying METV you have to wonder why they are to also carrying MeTV +.


I like MeTV + especially Sunday night Cartoons. :D
Yes, I would have thought FrndlyTV would have added MeTV+ rather than one of the other second-tier Weigel retro channels like H&I, Decades or Start TV.

What's particularly interesting about this development, IMO, is this is the first time we're seeing MeTV carried on a streaming service nationwide. I had assumed that there were some kind of licensing issues involved before (e.g. with other companies besides Weigel owning local stations carrying MeTV on their main .1) precluding that development. But now that it's apparently been worked out, perhaps we'll see MeTV carried on other streaming cable TV services like YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream, etc.
 
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