CINCINNATI—E.W. Scripps pulled a multiplatform move on Wednesday with distribution on Amazon’s Alexa, while the Scripps cable nets joined the new live pay TV bundle from Hulu.
E.W. Scripps Co. said it made content from its 23 local news operations available via Alexa, the Amazon voice-activated virtual assistant that answers for its Echo smart speakers, which number 11 million in the market, according to a Morgan Stanley estimate that showed up in The Seattle Times last January.
Scripps said that in “many of its markets,” its stations represent the only local news available through Alexa, who/which also offers national outlets that include CNN, NPR and Scripps-owned Newsy. E.W. Scripps has 33 TV stations in 24 markets with an aggregate U.S. audience reach of 20 percent.
In other Scripps-related multiplatform news, the cable media network concern—spun out of EWS seven years ago—is providing its stable of cable networks to Hulu for its new over-the-top pay bundle. The deal gives Hulu live and on-demand rights for Scripps Networks Interactive’s HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel at launch, as well as DIY Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country. Hulu’s $40 live TV streaming service launched in beta to the public today. Hulu is the OTT joint venture of Disney, NBCU, Fox—with 30 percent each; and Turner to a lesser, 10 percent extent.
Scripps joins NBCU, CBS, Fox, Disney, Turner and A&E Networks on the new Hulu pay platform. The move comes after Scripps launched its own Roku channels“several months ago.”
CATEGORIES
