With the new station groups, 80% of U.S. homes can watch streaming local news anytime, anyplace. The announcement follows a similar deal with Tribune Media announced last month, which gave Watchup access to video content from 30 of Tribune’s broadcast stations.
Watchup App Adds Scripps, Meredith, More
Watchup, the free news streaming service, is putting local news before consumers with the announcement of five content partnerships that will allow most U.S. households to watch their local news anytime, anyplace.
The latest in a series of deals for the app are with local broadcasting companies: Meredith Corp., E.W. Scripps Co., Lilly Broadcasting, Bonten Media Group and Cowles-owned KHQ Inc.
These partnerships give Watchup users access to video from an additional 51 local media outlets representing 39 top DMAs, including TV stations in Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Tampa, Phoenix, Baltimore and Tampa.
The announcement follows a similar deal with Tribune Media announced last month, which gave Watchup access to video content from 30 of Tribune’s broadcast stations.
In full, Watchup users can now watch local news reports from 81 local media outlets across the country, reaching 80% of U.S. TV households according to Watchup.
“Watchup is creating an alternative to traditional TV watching that supports the surging trend for over-the-top media consumption,” said Watchup founder-CEO Adriano Farano. “I’m thrilled to bring our users news coverage about their community.”
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Watchup uses a device’s GPS to feed local news to a user’s stream. Users can also search and select other local content, allowing them to watch hometown news wherever they may be.
“We are always seeking new ways to better serve our local news audience and Watchup provides a unique platform to reach local viewers the way they want to view content,” said Patrick McCreery, VP of news and marketing for Meredith’s Local Media Group, which has stations in 10 markets participating with Watchup, including Atlanta, Phoenix, St. Louis and Portland.
Watchup has partnered with more than 100 news sources such as Fox News, PBS NewsHour, CNET, The Washington Post, Fusion, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Media. Watchup is available on the iOS AppStore, Google Play, Amazon Appstore and Xbox360 for superior mobile and over-the-top consumption.
Watchup’s interface and algorithm allows consumers to build individualized newscasts by selecting topics of interest from news sources they trust. Viewers can stream news video continuously or set up a daily, customized newscast that is delivered to their device at whatever time of day they desire. Users fine-tune their experience by liking or disliking reports and Watchup instantly learns from their choices.
Comments (0)