ABC Owned Television Stations come to The Roku Channel

Roku is set to bolster its news offerings by partnering with the ABC Owned Television Stations. This collaboration will make local news from several major US cities available for streaming on The Roku Channel.

The cities targeted for local news coverage include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno. The streaming platform will rely on news feeds from the local ABC stations, including breaking news, weather, and live video.

Detailed offerings from each of the stations include:

• ABC7 New York: Covering NYC, New Jersey, Long Island, and the rest of the greater New York City area.
• ABC7 Los Angeles: Covering LA, Orange County, and Southern California.
• ABC7 Chicago: Covering local politics, health, traffic, and sports for Chicago, the suburbs, and northwest Indiana.
• 6ABC Philadelphia: Covering Philadelphia, PA, NJ, and Delaware.
• ABC13 Houston: Covering Houston, Harris County, and Texas.
• ABC7 News Bay Area: Covering San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and all of the greater Bay Area.
• ABC11 Raleigh-Durham: Covering Raleigh, Durham, and Fayetteville.
• ABC30 Fresno: Covering the North Valley, South Valley, Sierra, and the greater Fresno area.

In addition to the local news stations, the network’s national feed, ABC Localish, will be included. This network focuses on uplifting stories about exceptional people, places, and experiences across America.

This partnership comes at a pivotal time for both Roku and the broadcasting industry. Streaming services have steadily been gaining ground against traditional broadcasting models, but recent studies, such as one by the Television Bureau of Advertising, suggest that local news programming continues to command a substantial audience.

Roku’s move to incorporate local news content from sources like ABC provides added value to their streaming service and reinforces the ongoing relevance of local broadcast news.

By including local news in their lineup, Roku is aiming to capture a broader demographic, appeal to audience preferences for locally relevant content, and ultimately drive user engagement on its platform.