ABC Owned Stations Unveil New Websites

Disney/ABC Television Group today launched responsive websites for its Owned TV Stations: WABC New York; KABC Los Angeles; WLS Chicago; WPVI Philadelphia; KGO San Francisco; KTRK Houston; WTVD Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and KFSN Fresno, Calif. The websites will also include a new “Map My News” feature and more editorial focus on weather.

Responsive website highlights include:

• Content scales seamlessly across desktops, connected TVs, smartphones and tablets.

• Intuitive user interface makes it easier to find, read, watch and share news stories.    

• High-quality HD video with no buffering that plays beautifully across an ever-changing landscape of mobile devices.

• Numerous advantages for advertising partners. An “Ads Everywhere” model ensures ad units are consistently the highest possible quality across all devices; improved categorization of content that is more interesting to our viewers and more valuable for our advertisers, making it easier to align brand messages with relevant content; more high-impact ad units, including the addition of IAB Rising Stars, takeover opportunities, larger interstitials, sponsorship opportunities and native advertising.

There have also been editorial enhancements to the websites, including the following:

• A “Map My News” feature where viewers can access a map and click on pins to discover breaking news stories, as well as tweets from reporters and photographers, gathering news in our viewers’ neighborhoods and communities.

• Expanded weather coverage, which is the most popular topic across all sites. A customizable local weather forecast is prominently displayed at the top of every page on the websites, and weather maps and Doppler radars are featured prominently on home pages. The Weather home pages now feature more photos and videos than ever before and include street-level weather tracking.

• More prominent gateways into WATCH ABC where verified viewers can watch live feeds of their local news programs and favorite ABC shows on desktops, connected TVs, tablets and smartphones.

“Our mobile audience has more than tripled in the last year,” said Carla Carpenter, SVP Digital Media, ABC Owned Television Stations. “It’s critical that we employ the latest technologies in order to grow with them. This re-launch underscores our commitment to delivering the news that is most relevant to our viewers on the devices that are most convenient for them.”

“From the utilization of even more precise targeting techniques, to the addition of new high-impact ad units and the ability to scale beautifully across multiple devices, ‘Ads Everywhere’ puts us in a position to offer our advertising partners even deeper engagement with our viewers,” said Debra O’Connell, president, ABC National Television Sales.

Disney/ABC Television Group began introducing responsive design elements to its portfolio of network websites — DisneyJunior.com, DisneyChannel.com, DisneyXD.com and ABCFamily.com — in fall 2013.  All sites will be fully responsive when the final elements of ABC.com, which began rolling out its redesign in January 2014, go live during the fall 2014 TV season.