Updated 10/29/2020: Locast announced additional deployments in Wilkes Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania, reaching an additional 1.5 million potential users.
Original story starts here:
Locast, the non-profit streaming service focused on local broadcast TV stations, announced Wednesday that it has debuted in its 24th U.S. market, Indianapolis.
The streaming service also said it now has 1.7 million users.
Also Read: Locast Founder David Goodfriend: On the Five Spot (Q&A)
Locast didn’t define what a user is, in this case. Is it a “monthly active user” (MAU), as defined by AVOD platforms like Tubi and Pluto TV? Is a “user” someone who pays the recommended $5-a-month “donation” to Locast?
Again, unclear. But the audience performance disclosure does indicate growth for Locast, which reported 700,000 users in late-September of 2019.
As for the expansion to Indianapolis, Locast is now delivering 42 local broadcast channels to residents in 32 counties within the Indy designated marketing area (DMA), upping the overall reach of the streaming service to 148 million people across the U.S.
Also Read: Locast: Everything You Need to Know
“For the first time, more than 3 million residents in Indianapolis and surrounding cities will be able to watch their local TV stations on their phones, tablets, laptops or streaming media devices,” said Locast Founder and Chairman David Goodfriend, in a statement. “When dealing with health, safety, or participation in our democracy through voting, Locast performs a critical public service by increasing access to local broadcast TV channels.”
