Watching locally-produced TV in the Tampa Bay area just became cheaper and easier. Now, all you need is a reliable internet connection.
Locast, a New York-based nonprofit, has expanded its free locally-based TV streaming service, offering 45 channels, to the Tampa Bay area, according to a press release.
Channels available on the app include local affiliates of ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and PBS as well as Spanish language channels like Telemundo and Univision. Locast Founder and Chairman David Goodfriend said that the service can provide a great deal especially considering the value of local news in providing hurricane alerts and coronavirus updates.
“Local TV news provides the most up-to-date emergency and disaster information, and it broadcasts critical alerts about hurricanes and coronavirus-related restrictions,” he said. “As long as local TV stations continue to broadcast during major storms, Locast will remain a lifeline to those living within the Tampa metro area.”
The app is available on Roku, as well as Apple and Android devices.
Viewing a Locast stream, like many streaming services, includes interruptions ― unless a $5 per month fee is paid.
Nevertheless, Tampa Bay residents can join Locast’s more than one million users, which includes people who cannot afford to pay for a TV subscription, according to the release.
Currently, Locast is in a lawsuit with major TV networks like CBS, ABC, NBC and FOX, which are challenging the nonprofits protection under a 1976 federal statute that allows nonprofits to “boost” TV signals to allow wider access, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
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