NewsOn announces Roku app updates

Streaming local news service NewsOn has launched an upgraded app on Roku.

This latest version brings a host of new features and a refreshed user interface, continuing to provide viewers with access to live and on-demand news coverage across the United States.

With the newly redesigned app, users can enjoy ad-supported access to a comprehensive range of local news content, including live newscasts and on-demand clips from over 285 trusted TV stations spanning more than 135 markets, covering over 90% of the U.S. Additionally, numerous local stations have FAST channels which are available for streaming on NewsOn, according to Sinclair’s announcement.

The enhanced NewsOn experience introduces several new features:

• Weather: Users can access a “zoomable” national radar map with additional layers including winds, precipitation, icy conditions and more. Local current conditions and 7-day forecasts are available for each NewsOn market on the app, along with a curated collection of weather videos and up-to-date coverage from around the country.
• “What’sOn” new original series: “What’sOn” is a daily segment featuring unique and trending news stories beyond the headlines, presented in an interactive and engaging format.
• Each day brings new content like ‘True Crime Tuesday’, ‘Strange but True Thursday’ and more. Viewers can interact with the host and fellow users through comments on their mobile device, sharing their voice and connecting with the community.
• Mobile features: iOS and Android apps now offer a focus on mobile-centric short-form content, polls, user commenting and push alerts.

“The release of our updated app on Roku is a significant milestone for NewsOn. We are very focused on building on our core service of nationwide local TV news access with unique features like VOD newscasts, while enhancing multiplatform engagement and interactivity with a host of new content and features including interactive weather radar, user commenting and polls,” said Ron Stitt, vice president and general manager of NewsOn, in a statement.

NewsOn is free to download with no login required on Roku devices, Amazon FireTV, Samsung, Android TV, Vizio, Web, iOS and Android. An additional app for LG is also in development.