The Weather Channel is planning to launch an app for its Local Now service to expand viewership.
The Weather Channel is an independent satellite TV channel that offers weather-related news to millions of Americans. The TV network rolled out the Local Now service in January this year, which brings weather, traffic, sports and local news to viewers. However, the service is only limited to Sling TV.
"We are very excited to launch Local Now to our Best of Live service at no additional cost to you. We have teamed up with The Weather Channel to provide you with around-the-clock local news, sports, traffic updates and weather reports. If you are currently a Best of Live TV subscriber, Local Now should automatically appear within your channel ribbon," says Sling TV.
The Weather Channel wants to expand the reach of Local Now and Dave Shull, the CEO of the TV network, revealed the company's plans of launching a Local Now app for iOS and Android. Shull suggests that the Local Now app is expected to launch in June this year.
The demand for traditional pay-TV is declining as more people are switching to streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix and more. However, although streaming services offer a wide array of channels, they lack local news content. On the other hand, local news stations do not satisfy demand for mobile customers.
The Weather Channel wants to leverage on its existing infrastructure and use cost-effective technology to bring local news to mobile devices via the Local Now app.
The Weather Channel is not the first to bring local news to viewers. An app called NewsOn also offers a similar service, which could give stiff competition to the Local Now app.
"Watch news live or on your own schedule, with most stations offering full newscasts for up to 48 hours," reads the product description of the NewsOn app on the Google Play Store. "Never miss another breaking news event. Use news alerts to take you directly to the place and moment when breaking news occurs. Catch all of the action as it happens - from trusted, local news teams."
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