The Locast complaint cites YouTubeTV as one example of a company that got cold feet. YouTubeTV, which is owned by Google, sells a streaming service that replicates a cheap cable bundle.

According to the complaint, Google executives alerted Locast in April that the networks had warned the tech company not to allow YouTubeTV to provide access to Locast. If it did, according to the complaint, Google would be “punished by the big four broadcasters.”

The broadcasters — working together — could put pressure on Google (and other pay-TV operators) by refusing to sell rights to cable channels that are allied with the broadcast networks, the complaint suggests.

ABC and ESPN, for example, are both controlled by the Walt Disney Company. NBC and the USA cable channel are owned by NBCUniversal, while the broadcast station Fox and the cable network Fox News are controlled by the Murdoch family. CBS, which owns the Pop TV and Showtime cable networks, recently agreed to merge with Viacom, which owns MTV and Nickelodeon.

“This is classic copyright abuse,” the lawsuit reads. The networks have “misused copyrights to expand their market power beyond what those copyrights were intended to protect.”

The complaint also accuses the networks of failing to transmit their over-the-air signals with enough power, thereby “forcing consumers” to pay for cable or satellite service, or the broadcasters’ own direct streaming services.

Locast sits mostly under the radar, but it has gained in popularity at a time when more consumers are watching television digitally. More than 700,000 users are signed up in 13 cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington.