NEW YORK—Syncbak announced today that VUit, its free, ad-supported national hyperlocal news streaming service has reached new carriage agreements with six broadcast groups that will result in 18 new stations and five new markets joining the platform.
The new agreements include:
- Weigel Broadcasting Co. (WCIU, Chicago; WBND, South Bend, Ind. and WDJT and WYTU, Milwaukee)
- Capitol Broadcasting Company (WRAL and WRAZ, Raleigh, N.C. and WILM, Wilmington, Del.)
- Lockwood Broadcast Group (WSKY, Norfolk, Va., a new market for VUit; WCAV, Charlottesville, Va; WDFX, Dothan, Ala.; WPGX, Panama City, Fla., and WTNZ, Knoxville, Tenn.)
- Marquee Broadcasting (WMDT, Salisbury, Md., a new market for VUit; WNKY, Bowling Green, Ky., and WSWG, Albany, Ga.)
- Fort Myers Broadcasting Company (WINK, Ft. Myers, Fla., a new market for VUit)
- Sunbeam Television (WHDH, Boston, and WSVN, Miami)
The addition of the new stations to VUit’s current availability in more than 160 markets nationwide now means that local news and content from approximately 250 stations—with coverage from nearly 80% of the top DMAs—are available on the VUit platform. The new deals further bolster VUit’s list of local station group partners that includes: Gray Television, Cox, Hearst Television, Heritage Broadcasting, Morgan Murphy Media, News-Press and Gazette Company, as well as leading independent local stations such as WFMZ-TV in Philadelphia and KTSF in San Francisco.
Beyond enabling VUit to grow the selection of hyper-local programming available on the platform, the deals also help this diverse roster of stations to increase audiences and grow advertising revenue opportunities well beyond their local markets, the company said. VUit says its platform “creates new digital growth opportunities for local stations and empowers them to create a custom and unique viewing experience for audiences anytime, anywhere, on any device.”
Jack Perry, CEO of Syncbak, VUit’s parent company, said, “These new deals are the latest example underscoring VUit’s position as the leading streaming destination for local news and cultural content that has appeal on a national scale. The value we offer to stations in scaling their streaming audience and digital revenue is unparalleled. As we continue to expand, we remain laser-focused on our bigger mission and vision: helping every station and station group thrive in the streaming landscape.”
