You canceled cable long ago. Your TV antenna has trash reception for ABC. But you want to host an Oscars viewing party. What to do?
A newish, under-the-radar option is Locast. It’s like an app version of a $50 antenna you can get from Best Buy, and it’s free and easy to use.
For someone like me, weaned on Netflix, Locast is too simplistic to be a major part of my TV addiction. It’s a stopgap, excellent the few times a year when I want to watch what everyone else is watching, at the same time they watch it.
But it’s useful for those who regularly watch TV live — sports lovers, devotees of morning shows like “Today,” “Bachelor” fans who livetweet each episode.
You don’t have to pay for it, as you do with cable, and it’s available on more gadgets than you’d get with just a TV antenna. For those who don’t have a TV, it’s one of the easiest ways to watch over-the-air stations for free.
HOW IT WORKS
Locast makes local stations available for free, in real time, online. You can watch on its website, locast.org, or on apps for iPhones and Android phones. A Roku app or sharing from your phone with Chromecast or Apple’s AirPlay lets you stream to the TV.
In New York, I get stations for ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW, PBS, Univision, Telemundo, Ion and a handful of others. Cable channels like ESPN, MTV, Bravo and Fox News are not available free on the public airwaves. You generally have to pay for them.
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