STIRR

In 2019, broadcasting giant Sinclair took a stab at streaming with STIRR, a free service with live channels and on-demand shows and movies. It was once seen as one of the best free ad-supported streaming services on the market. Sinclair, however, is in the process of selling the service, which now offers just a fraction of what it used to offer. The soon-to-be new owner of STIRR is a company called Thinking Media, according to a newly updated term of service page.

Sinclair’s free streaming network, STIRR, is a place for cord cutters and mobile users to watch live local news provided by the 82 Sinclair TV stations across the country. But with hundreds of other TV programs and thousands of on demand options, marketing STIRR can be a challenge.

Adam Ware, VP of national networks and platforms for Sinclair Broadcast Group, says the company’s STIRR network of local streaming channels is seeing robust revenue growth in spinning up bespoke channels and “long-form” advertising content for local advertisers. Note: This story is available to TVNewsCheck Premium members only. If you would like to upgrade your free TVNewsCheck membership to Premium now, you can visit your Member Home Page, available when you log in at the very top right corner of the site or in the Stay Connected Box that appears in the right column of virtually every page on the site. If you don’t see Member Home, you will need to click Log In or Subscribe.

Stirr, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s over-the-top service, is exclusively streaming the late Alex Trebek’s last episodes as host of Jeopardy. The episodes are available on demand in markets where Sinclair stations air the syndicated show. And they will only be available until five more episodes air. At that point, the new episodes will be available on demand.

A roundup of the NextGen TV applications station groups and startups are delivering today.

Sinclair’s streaming STIRR service added a coronavirus channel last month, stitching together daily press conferences on the pandemic from around the country. That content will evolve as the pandemic continues, STIRR’s GM says.

As people turn to local news stations for critical updates amidst the crisis, the free streaming platform is experiencing a record number of users and sessions.

The free streaming platform now exceeds 1.6 million downloads, offers 100 linear channels, including a new 2020 election live-feed channel, and rolls out local on demand viewing of hit broadcast syndication TV shows.

Six months after launch, Sinclair’s OTT Service reports a 200% increase in viewership.

With no common measurement data, OTT services are playing by multiple rule books, broadcast executives say at TVNewsCheck’s OTT News Summit.

Executives from leading local and national news players in the OTT space discuss their various options for packaging and presenting content on the platform. Also crucial is figuring out how best to differentiate one’s OTT service from the many competing options, overcoming a lack of viewing metrics and personalizing content for viewers.

Sinclair’s Scott Ehrlich, Cox’s Ian Stinson, CBS’s Adam Wiener and Gray’s Erin Overstreet will offer insights they’ve gained into local news audience behavior, optimal OTT content and programming decisions, backend tech challenges and monetization opportunities at TVNewsCheck’s OTT News Summit on June 11.

At Sinclair’s new OTT service, online streaming is STIRRed and may be shaken. As GM of Sinclair’s newly launched streaming service STIRR, Adam Ware is hoping to inspire stations to binge on new production. If the plan works, it could touch off an explosion of innovation, creativity and original programming from local TV newsrooms.

The centerpiece of Stirr will be a digital channel called Stirr City. It will be tailored to a viewer’s location and carry local news and other programs airing on that city’s station. However, viewers will be free to choose a different city. Broadcasters are typically barred from doing so, particularly with sports, though Sinclair appears to be focusing on high school and other local teams for which rights wouldn’t be an issue.

The group’s planned package of ad-supported channels, including local news and programming, will be available via the Roku and Amazon Fire OTT TV platforms, via apps for Apple and Android smartphones and on the Web.

The new, free OTT streaming service will offer live and on-demand content spanning entertainment, sports and news when it launches early next year.