LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — Local Now has added 111 Gray Media channels to its free streaming lineup, substantially expanding the amount of local television news available through one national application.

The companies announced the expansion September 14. Local Now says the agreement brings its total offering to nearly 600 local-news channels and gives the platform coverage in all 210 U.S. television markets.

The service operates as free ad-supported streaming television, commonly abbreviated FAST. Viewers can access it through Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV, Xfinity, Vizio, Samsung TV Plus and mobile devices.

LOCAL NEWS WITHOUT ANOTHER STATION APP

Local broadcasters have spent years building individual applications and connected-TV channels. That strategy can preserve a station’s brand, but it also requires viewers to discover and install separate services for each newsroom.

Local Now offers a different path: a single national destination that uses location information to present area news, weather, sports and traffic. The new Gray agreement adds feeds from one of the country’s largest local-television groups.

THE BUSINESS QUESTIONS BEHIND THE EXPANSION

The channel count is clear, but the announcement leaves several important commercial and editorial questions unanswered.

  • Who controls local and national advertising inventory?
  • Do participating stations receive detailed viewer and engagement data?
  • How much programming appears beyond scheduled newscasts?
  • Can a station control clipping, branding and presentation?
  • How is revenue divided among Local Now, Gray and individual stations?

Those answers will determine whether the arrangement creates a meaningful new local-media business or primarily extends distribution.

The development also matters to independent publishers. If Local Now eventually accepts qualified regional feeds beyond traditional television groups, it could create another distribution route for locally produced news, interviews and specialty coverage.

Sources: Local Now announcement and TVNewsCheck.