DETROIT—Graham Media Group's stations KPRC-TV (Houston) and WDIV-TV (Detroit) launched an additional hour of their morning local newscasts on April 4 that are streaming exclusively on digital platforms and OTT apps.
"We've reimagined our streaming news products to meet the needs of our viewers,” said Bob Ellis, WDIV vice president and general manger. “They've clearly told us they want more local news from the brands they trust most and we're providing that with our original news programs on Local4+. The streaming numbers on our app continue to grow rapidly and we're committed to serving these new audiences now and in the weeks and months ahead with much more quality content coming."
KPRC-TV's morning newscast will stream from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. on KPRC2+, and will feature the morning news team of Owen Conflenti, Lisa Hernandez, meteorologist Anthony Yanez and Anavid Reyes following rush hour traffic. Amy Davis and Anavid Reyes will expand their consumer and transit stories to include angles not covered on broadcast, and the hour will feature live guests to give depth and perspective on the big stories of the day.
WDIV-TV's morning newscast will stream from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Local4+, and will feature the morning news team of Rhonda Walker, Evrod Cassimy, meteorologist Brandon Roux, traffic reporter Kim DeGiulio and reporter Nick Monacelli and will feature live guests, the day's top stories, weather and traffic reports from across Metro Detroit. WDIV added a 10 p.m. nightly newscast streaming exclusively on Local4+ earlier this year.
KPRC2+ and Local4+ television apps are available for free download in the Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Google TV app stores. The live streams also can be viewed on the stations' mobile apps and online at Click2Houston.com and ClickOnDetroit.com.
The new live streams are part of a larger effort by Graham Media Group stations to innovate in streaming local news beyond broadcast, the company reported.
Earlier this year, KSAT-TV (San Antonio) launched a daily 11 a.m. digital stream exclusive newscast, "KSAT News Now", and "KSAT Explains", a weekly deep-dive news feature program available on KSAT Plus, and WSLS-TV (Roanoke) launched "The Sprint", a daily digital-only news brief.
WKMG-TV (Orlando) has pioneered a "Choose Your View" director's chair digital stream for coverage of space launches from Kennedy Space Center and with 25 live cameras covering the Orlando 4th of July Fireworks in 2021.
WJXT-TV (Jacksonville) debuted the "Choose Your View" stream in covering the implosion of a downtown skyscraper in March.
