Willis Lai
For some cord-cutters, last week’s sudden demise of Locast hit hard, leaving them without affordable access to local channels.
Several readers have told me that using an antenna just isn’t feasible for them, either because they’re too far away from local broadcast towers or they get too much interference from their surroundings. Locast was a cheap workaround, streaming local channels from its own antennas for free, with an optional $5-per-month donation for uninterrupted viewing. (The group had argued that as a nonprofit, it could offer these streams through an exemption in copyright law.)
That strategy collapsed last week, when the major TV networks successfully crushed Locast in court. Now, the only way to get a full suite of live, local channels without an antenna is to sign up for a big TV bundle.
Still, there’s one alternative you might have overlooked: If you know anyone who’s blessed with better over-the-air reception, you can …