“RABBIT EARS” COME TO SMARTPHONES

FilmOn.com, a website that offers dozens of cable and broadcast channels over the Internet — but not any associated with the major broadcast networks — has found a way to bring local network stations onto smartphone screens without facing further legal problems from the networks. While the website offers à la carte access to dozens of cable channels for $1.95 for each channel, it also offers a $195 annual subscription that allows users to access all of them at any time. Beginning next month, it said on Wednesday, it will offer a free add-on device for most smartphones that will allow them to display over-the-air broadcasts via a tiny receiver that clips onto the phones. Non-subscribers will have to pay $95 for the device. Traditionally, however, such mobile receivers have proved to be dicey, since they have difficulty locking on to a broadcast signal when they’re in motion. FilmOn’s announcement did not indicate whether the device will function overseas.