TV hack
Sneaky hack to watch WFAA in Dallas during AT&T-Tegna blackout
For three weeks in a row, Bachelorette fans in Dallas-Fort Worth have missed Tayshia's dramatic rose ceremonies due to a blackout of TV stations across the U.S., including WFAA-Channel 8. But in time for her all-important hometown dates, we have a hack to get it back in real time on your SmartTV.
Some background on the situation: The blackout began at 7 pm December 1, following a dispute between between AT&T/DirecTV and Tegna, a media company that owns 64 stations in 51 markets across the U.S.
While they continue to battle over fees, viewers continue to get no programming. (Some customers report that a call to AT&T has resulted in a $20 refund.)
Many of WFAA's shows are available on Hulu the next day, and news broadcasts can be streamed through their website.
But for U-verse subscribers who want to watch the station's programming live, for free, on their SmartTV, there is a way to do it: using Locast, a not-for-profit service that gives access to broadcast TV stations over the internet.
Here are the steps:
- Gather materials: You'll need your computer (or other device with internet), your U-verse remote, and your SmartTV.
- On your computer (or internet device), visit www.locast.org. Click "register" and fill in your email address and create a password to create an account. Don't close this window yet.
- Turn on your SmartTV, and, using your U-verse remote, click Menu, then scroll down the options and click "Interactive."
- On the "TV Interactive" screen, scroll right to the blue "Locast" box and click it. You should see a message that says "Activate Locast" with a six-digit code in orange. Time to go back to your computer.
- On the Locast site, click "Activate" from the top left menu. Enter the six-digit code showing on your TV screen. You should see a message that says, "Your device was successfully activated."
- On your TV screen, you should see a list of channels in a TV Guide format. Scroll down until you get to the WFAA-Channel 8 option. Click on the current program.
Voila! You're now watching it live.
Locast is free to use, but they ask for support through donations.
