CADILLAC, MICH.—NewsNet, a new 24-hour news network, has launched with affiliates in 18 markets, including Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Detroit, the company announced today.
“Over the past few years, we heard constant complaints about the state of existing 24-hour news channels—particularly their focus on opinion-based programming,” explained Eric Wotila, president of NewsNet, “We’re thrilled to have brought back a news channel with a straight-to-the-facts, headline-driven format, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”
The new news network relies on a traditional news wheel format. Headlines are presented at the top of each hour, followed by weather, sports and feature stories from around the country. In some markets, the feature stories are pre-empted by local news updates.
NewsNet affiliates broadcast over the air on auxiliary channels (also known as "diginets"). It is also available on iPhone and Android devices, and will be launching later in January as an OTT app on Roku, Amazon, Fire TV and Apple TV.
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The network was created by the same team responsible for other 24/7 local news channels, including northern Michigan’s MI News 26 and News Channel Nebraska. “After building MI News 26 and directing many technical aspects of the launch of News Channel Nebraska, we saw strong interest in our no-nonsense approach to 24-hour news,” said Wotila, “We wanted to bring that success to other markets….”
With its launch, NewsNet is reaching about 30 million potential over-the-air TV viewers, but the network plans to add other affiliates throughout the year. “We’re actively talking to potential affiliates on a daily basis,” said Wotila. "Ultimately, we’d love to see NewsNet available over-the-air to the entire country.”
