TYSONS, Va.—Tegna has announced that it will be rolling out new over-the-top (OTT) streaming apps and 24-7 streaming channels for its 64 stations in 51 markets.
Two stations, 11Alive+ in Atlanta and WTHR13+ in Indianapolis, are already piloting their new apps and additional stations are expected to launch apps through the second quarter.
Updated streaming apps will initially be available on Roku and Fire TV, with additional platforms slated to launch later this year.
Tegna launched its first-generation of apps in 2021 and the newly redesigned apps are designed to be a one-stop destination for local stories that matter.
“With more than 100 million minutes of streaming per month on our first-generation apps, it is clear that our viewers crave live and on-demand local content,” said Adam Ostrow, Tegna’s chief digital officer. “Now, with 24-7 access to news, sports, lifestyle content, weather forecasts and more, stations are delivering on our ‘live, local and always on’ promise more than ever, making our valuable and important local content available to viewers when they want it.”
Each new streaming app will feature a local twenty-four-hour “Watch” stream, which will include live local news, newscast replays, extended live coverage, weather, and station specials and investigations.
Stations’ “Watch” streams will also include:
- Local Sports Shows: Tegna’s Locked On Podcast Network produces daily shows for every team across the four major professional sports leagues, as well as college sports programs. These shows are now available as video, and stations can offer locally relevant shows inside their respective OTT apps. Locked On will also produce “Locked On Sports Today,” a fast-paced show featuring local experts discussing the day’s biggest sports stories.
- VERIFY: Tegna’s brand dedicated to stopping the spread of misinformation will be producing a new weekly show hosted by Ariane Datil and Brandon Lewis that uses trusted sources and transparent reporting to help audiences understand what’s true and false.
- Daily Blast LIVE: Tegna’s interactive live daily show for television and streaming covers news, entertainment, pop culture, celebrities and the latest trending stories 24-7 and features hosts Sam Schacher, Jeff Schroeder, Al Jackson, Erica Cobb, Tory Shulman, Lindsey Granger and Stefanie Jones.
Consumers can also navigate to on-demand streaming channels to catchup on their favorite newscasts, view the latest forecast and extended coverage, watch Locked On shows for sports news, analysis and commentary on their favorite local sports teams and go deeper into VERIFY stories across topic areas, Tegna reported.
Premion, Tegna’s OTT advertising platform, is selling stations’ premium streaming app inventory.
Since 2020, Tegna stations have significantly increased digital viewership, achieving record audiences across platforms in key metrics such as visitors, video plays and monthly active users.
Additionally, Locked On Podcast Network has more than 16 million monthly listens and views, and VERIFY stories reach more than 5 million unique visitors each month across platforms, Tegna said.
