MCLEAN, Va.—Gannett today announced the relaunch of its over-the-top (OTT) properties in partnership with media technology company Amagi, which is providing the platform for the USA TODAY News and USA TODAY SportsWire 24-hour streaming channels.
Since launching OTT channels in 2018, Gannett has expanded to more than 12 Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) platforms, including XUMO, The Roku Channel, Amazon News, Tubi, Samsung and TV Plus. As a result, over the past year Gannett has seen views grow to more than 25 million per month and average viewing times across all platforms climb over 200%, the company said.
“We’re very excited to relaunch the USA TODAY News and SportsWire OTT channels with a fresh take on news, information and sports programming,” said Caroline Harris, vice president of digital distribution at Gannett.
“We’re taking USA TODAY Network’s trusted and approachable reporting and storytelling, combined with its deep connections with local communities and renown personalities, and bringing it all to audiences in the U.S. and around the world with the support of our partners at Amagi.”
Channel programming features editorial documentaries from the USA TODAY NETWORK, franchise series produced by USA TODAY Studios and news from insiders and journalists. The series include: “Humankind,” “Problem Solved,” “Entertain This!,” “Just the FAQs,” “What We Know Now” and “Sports Seriously.”
“Amagi thrives on making high quality content accessible to multi-screen audiences around the world,” said Amagi co-founder Srinivasan KA. “Our partnership with Gannett is enabling them to tap into a wide network of connected TV households, providing linear TV viewers access to USA TODAY’s premium sports and news content while enhancing monetization opportunities.”
The national “USA TODAY High School Sports Awards” also will air Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. EDT on the USA TODAY News and SportsWire channels. The show, co-hosted by Michael Strahan and Rob Gronkowski, is the culmination of 105 regional and statewide awards programs celebrating elite high school athletes, coaches, and teams.
More information is available on the Amagi and Gannett websites.
