A few weeks ago, Gray Television announced a deal to stream their 93 local stations online. Now Gray Television has started to roll out these new apps on devices like the Fire TV and Roku players with 56 stations now live. (If you want to find a list of all 56 that went live last week AFTVnews.com has a full list.)
“We’re very excited about the possibilities for our live local programming,” said Julia Campbell, vice president of media systems, Gray Television. “With SBTV this past March, our station KTUU in Anchorage, Alaska was able to carry the Iditarod dogsled race live locally and build an audience nationwide.”
“SBTV gives our stations the tools we need to deliver our own, unique, hyperlocal OTT channels,” said Brian Brady, CEO of Northwest Broadcasting. “And, since Syncbak is the leader in providing linear feeds to the vMVPDs, I know every one of my stations is ready for subscription OTT as well.”
For most Americans, antennas offer free local programming, for millions of people antennas do not work. An estimated 20 million Americans cannot get one or more of the locals they want with an antenna.
The new 3.0 OTA TV standard offers better reception in areas that currently struggle. Yet even with 3.0 OTA TV millions will likely still struggle to get one or more locals. This partnership between Gray Television and STB will make cord cutting easier.
Gray Television is not the only company rolling out apps. Raycom Media has for some time now offered live locals streaming through apps on devices like Apple TV, Roku, and Fire TV. Other services like NewsON offer a single app to stream local programming from multiple stations.
As 2018 rolls out we are getting close to saying every local station is offering at least their local programming streaming online for free.
How important is having your local programming streamed online? Leave a comment and let us know.
Did you know we now have a FREE app for iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire? Click HERE to download our app.
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