Free streaming television service Locast has expanded to a 35th market, making local broadcast channels available to viewers served by the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.
In an announcement on Friday, Locast said it was making 40 digital broadcast channels available to viewers in that area, including the region’s local ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and PBS affiliates and stations.
Locast is a not-for-profit service that offers free access to the broadcast channels it carries, making it easy for users to receive their local news, sports and general entertainment programming in areas where setting up an antenna is impractical and cable or satellite service might be expensive.
“So-called ‘cord cutters’ who cancel their increasingly expensive pay-TV subscriptions, and ‘cord-nevers’ who have never subscribed to pay-TV services, represent a significant proportion of Locast users,” a Locast spokesperson wrote in a blog post on Friday. “For those who cannot afford pay TV or cannot receive an over-the-air signal, Locast is often their only link to local broadcast news, emergency information, weather, sports, and entertainment.”
Locast does not charge anything for its service, but it does interrupt live streams every 15 minutes until users agree to donate at least $5 a month.
The service can be accessed by downloading the Locast app for Apple or Android phones or tablets. Apps are also available for Apple TV, Android TV (Google TV), Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
