The lawsuit was filed in U.S. district court in New York by CBS Corp, Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal Media, Fox Corporation's Fox Television Stations and Walt Disney Co's ABC against Sports Fans Coalition NY (SFCNY) and its founder, David Goodfriend, a former executive at satellite TV provider Dish.

Major broadcasters traditionally charge cable and satellite pay television providers like AT&T and Dish a fee to distribute their content. But by giving viewers that content for free, the free service, Locast, is threatening these fees.

The lawsuit comes as disputes over renewing carriage deals have led to channels being pulled off the air.

"Locast has been operating for more than a year and a half, and no broadcaster has filed until now," said David Hosp, an attorney at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, representing Goodfriend. Hosp said the group's non-profit status and the fact that it was not charging for the service put it on "sound legal footing."

Broadcasters disagreed. "Locast is not the Robin Hood of television; instead, Locast's founding, funding, and operations reveal its decidedly commercial purposes," according to the lawsuit.