Peacock is launching 24/7 local news channels representing NBC’s owned stations. WMAQ Chicago, WCAU Philadelphia, WBTS Boston and NECN, and WTVJ Miami news channels are available January 20 on Peacock. 

WNBC New York and KNBC Los Angeles will be on Peacock in the months ahead. 

The free new channels are called NBC Chicago News, NBC Philadelphia News, NBC Boston News and NBC South Florida News. They offer Peacock subscribers round-the-clock access to comprehensive local news coverage–both simulcasts of the linear stations and news that has aired. The channels are not geo-targeted, meaning users anywhere and everywhere can access a certain station’s content on Peacock. 

“We’re thrilled to add the incredible reporting of our NBC-owned television stations to Peacock’s unique programming slate that both informs and entertains,” said Jen Brown, senior VP of program planning for Peacock. “We know the importance of local news to our subscribers and this further distinguishes the Peacock experience where you can stream everything from award-winning news content to original scripted shows, premium movies, live sports and more all on our platform.” 

Peacock’s news offerings include NBC News NOW, Sky News and Today All Day. Last year, Peacock, a streaming platform that’s part of NBCUniversal, launched local news playlists representing the owned stations. 

NBCUniversal Local was B+C’s Multiplatform Broadcaster of the Year in 2021. ■

The NBC Owned Television Stations have renewed syndicated talk strip The Kelly Clarkson Show, which is produced and distributed by the renamed NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, for two more years, taking the show through the 2022-23 TV season, NBCUniversal said Tuesday. 

“One ray of sunshine in this wildly unpredictable year is that we get to continue to deliver to stations and fans a show that brings people together,” Traci Wilson, executive VP, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, said in a statement. “This wouldn’t be possible without the heart and humor of the talented and dedicated Kelly Clarkson and our production team, led by the incomparable Alex Duda, both of whom are masters of storytelling. It’s easy to see why Emmy voters, critics and viewers have become such loyal fans of the show.”

The eponymous Kelly Clarkson launched its sophomore season in syndication this fall after having to go into remote production from Clarkson’s Montana ranch when the pandemic hit in the spring. Clarkson returned to the show’s Los Angeles studio at Universal Studios in September with both the show’s guests and audience chiming in remotely.

Clarkson joins its fellow sophomore talker, Disney-ABC’s Tamron Hall, with the renewal. Tamron Hall has been renewed for a third season in syndication on the ABC owned TV stations as well as on other broadcast station groups across the country.

Also read: Syndicators Shift Focus to 2021 

In addition on Tuesday, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios said it is partnering with the Video Call Center (VCC) to bring virtual guests to the company’s two conflict talkers, Maury and The Steve Wilkos Show. The technology allows remote guests to join production by clicking a texted or emailed hyperlink. Once they join, they are captured in a broadcast-quality ISO feed.

Maury’s producers also are using technology from VCC that allows them to display audio and video communication between show host Maury Povich and his virtual guests without lag.

NBCUniversal continued to consolidate its management by naming Linda Yaccarino chair, global advertising and partnerships.

Yaccarino, who had headed national and global advertising sales for all of NBCU’s platforms, will now oversee local ad sales, including the company’s TV stations and regional sports networks.

Franck Comerford, chief revenue officer, president of commercial operations, NBC Owned Stations, and his team will become part of Yaccarino’s group

NBCU said that Yaccarino also will be overseeing a new effort to create a new data strategy unit that will aim to create a unified privacy-safe way of identifying viewers as it pursues new commerce opportunities. A chief data officer is expected to be named soon.

The company’s strategic initiatives group, headed by senior VP Kathy Kelly-Brown, has been placed under Yaccarino’s purview, uniting Comcast Cable and NBCU’s Symphony marketing efforts.

"Linda has done a fantastic job moving the advertising business forward, not just for NBCUniversal, but the industry at large," said Jeff Shell, who has been consolidating the company television operations since becoming CEO of NBCU earlier this year. “I'm excited for her to continue architecting the future of the ad-supported ecosystem and uniting all assets of this company to make us the best possible partner for our customers around the world." 

Yaccarino sent a memo to staff Monday explaining the changes:

Team,

I'm thrilled that our family is getting bigger.

First, we're welcoming Frank Comerford and his team of local sales experts to make our broader Global Advertising & Partnerships division truly a one-of-a-kind in this industry. This also means we will have the great opportunity to partner even more closely with Valari Staab, the stations, and the Regional Sports Networks under this new structure. On top of that, Kathy Kelly-Brown's strategic initiatives team will join our team and expand on their incredible work with Symphony, plus we'll be partnering even more closely with John Miller. Finally, we're going to build an entirely new Data Strategy unit that will unite all of NBCUniversal behind a shared information vision.

Please join me in welcoming them all!

These updates come at a time of massive transformation in the global advertising industry. Consumer behavior and corporate convergence are bringing media and technology closer together. And now, so are we.

By organizing our business to reflect the realities of the marketplace and the future that audiences have created, we're able to bolster our One Platform solution and, subsequently, our entire business. Now, from local to global, across cable and broadcast, digital and streaming, NBCUniversal—and only NBCUniversal—can offer audiences and partners an unbeatable combination of deep regional expertise and massive scale, data-driven math and a little bit of magic. 

While there is no doubt we are a content and technology company at our core, we need to keep accelerating our business plans to define entertainment and build the future of advertising. With the addition of these strong teams and new initiatives, we're expanding our offerings for clients while diversifying our business and creating new company-wide opportunities. We're making the right investments to bring that future into focus.

During Wednesday's Office Hours, I'll go into more details and introduce our new team members. But for now, it's important to reiterate: when we transform our team, we transform the company—and the entire industry. 

Thank you,

Linda

The NBC Owned Television Stations have launched local news updates on Alexa-enabled devices like the Amazon Echo, becoming the first station group to move into the space.

The O&Os are providing the updates on the voice-enabled platform via Flash Briefings – pre-recorded reports from broadcasters that, until now, have included more far-reaching outlets like NPR and BBC News, the company said.

The news updates -- usually four top stories -- are approximately 90 seconds long. They are updated throughout the day, the group said. 

Consumers must opt in to get the updates; to access them, users just say, "Alexa, what's the news?"

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.