When Newsy launches its over-the-air channel on Oct. 1, it will give viewers something they do not have now, according to TV news veteran Kate O’Brian.

“We’re not going to have pundits,” O’Brian, hired by the E.W. Scripps Co. as head of news for its national networks division to oversee both Newsy and Court TV, told Broadcasting+Cable. ”We’re not going to have talking heads. 

“I think there is an exhaustion level with 24/7 [news networks] that are just people talking,” she said. “I think the audience really wants to get context and try to understand the complex world we all live in. And a really great way to do that is through the visual medium.”

Many national news operations start up with promises to be fair and balanced and play stories down the middle, as O’Brian said Newsy intends to do. It hasn’t always been the most successful path.

“Look, it’s a different business model to appeal to the ends of the spectrum and there’s a big middle ground that isn’t being served really by the ends of the spectrum,” she said. “If they’re looking for 24/7 news, they’re our future viewers.”

But is there such a middle ground? Viewers seem to be more engaged with points of view they agree with, so increasingly networks have found the best way to attract ratings and ad dollars is to draw audiences either on the right or the left.

“I think what we’re doing addresses a need that we keep hearing is out there,” O’Brian insisted.

While Newsy will play it straight, it doesn’t plan to be boring. “We do not intend to be vanilla and white toast,” O’Brian said. ”I contend that you can have compelling, engaging, exciting content that isn’t vanilla and white toast and still appeal to a broad part of the audience.”

Newsy will also try to be different from what’s already out there in the news business. “With all humility, I don’t see that we have competition,” she said. ”We’re not at CNN’s level. We’re just starting to do this. We are not doing what [Nexstar Media Group-owned cable network] NewsNation is doing, because we’re doing something for an over-the-air viewer, and an over-the-top viewer, and not a cable news viewer.”

Founded in 2008 by the University of Missouri and acquired in 2014 by Scripps for $35 million, Newsy stands for “News with a Why.” It’s designed to help viewers understand the world and be fact-based rather than opinionated.

After Newsy launches over-the-air, it will continue to be distributed over the top via the Newsy app with the same 24-hour feed, making it available on any device for free. The over-the-air version of Newsy is not available on cable for now.

Also Read: E.W. Scripps Plans to Take Over the Air Nets Over the Top

Scripps is the largest owner of broadcast spectrum, so Newsy will be available over the air in 90% of the U.S. and in all major markets. That creates the potential for Newsy to have more viewers than ever before.

At this point, O’Brian said she does not have a viewership target to meet. The new network won’t be getting measured by Nielsen at launch.

“We are very mindful that we're going into a very busy landscape,” she said. “And so right now, we are not rated. We will give ourselves a little time to really move up in the viewership,” she said, adding that Scripps‘s research team will be able to monitor Newsy’s progress.

O’Brian recalled that early ratings weren’t always kind to news startups, including Al Jazeera America, which she helped launch in 2013.

“The subject of every news article about them started with, ‘Oh look, they only have X number of viewers,‘ ” she said. “I think we're going to give this team a chance to really get the audience that I think it's going to have.”

Leading up to the launch of the over the air channel, Newsy had added 10 new bureaus for a total of 13. Newsy’s editorial team now has about 250 staffers.

Also Read: Eric Ludgood Named Head of Newsy by E.W. Scripps

“We have a very, very large news-gathering operation,” she said. “We’re really focusing on video storytelling and on packages. It’s why we added so many reporters and why we added so many videographers and, in some cases, documentary filmmakers.”

Launch Lineup Set

Last week, Newsy announced its launch programming lineup, with live shows from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m. ET.

“We’re starting out a little aggressively, going live all day long, rather than growing from a prime time to other day parts,” O’Brian said.

“We're going to be covering everything,” she said. ”My background is in network news, but the network mentality is bolstered by our partnership with Scripps Local Media.

“It’s incredibly important that we have both of those things going on at the same time,” O‘Brien added. ”We’re going to tell our viewers what's going on in the U.S., in the world, but we also have unbelievable content from 43 different stations that will connect with viewers where they are.”

AT&T’s CNN said it plans to launch a streaming subscription service in the first quarter of 2022. 

The service, dubbed CNN Plus, will be a standalone, direct-to-consumer product separate from CNN’s current TV channels.

At launch CNN Plus is expected to have eight to 12 hours of live, daily programming featuring some of CNN’s best-known talent. It will also have new faces, CNN said. 

Also Read: AT&T’s Stankey Confirms CNN Plus Launch — How, Oh How Can He Screw This Up?

CNN Plus will also launch with a library of non-fiction, long-form programming including series like Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, This is Life with Lisa Ling and United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell.

Starting CNN Plus continues the trend of media companies shifting their focus to direct-to-consumer streaming products from traditional pay TV as cord-cutting and other changes in consumer behavior slice into  wholesale distribution revenue.

CNN will also be developing original series for CNN Plus.

“CNN invented cable news in 1980, defined online news in 1995 and now is taking an important step in expanding what news can be by launching a direct-to-consumer streaming subscription service in 2022,” said Jeff Zucker, chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports and president of CNN Worldwide. “On top of a television offering that has never been stronger, which remains at the core of what we do today, we will offer consumers a streaming product that grows the reach and scope of the CNN brand in a way that no one else is doing. Nothing like this exists.”

CNN Plus will be overseen by an executive team headed Andrew Morse, chief digital officer for CNN Worldwide, who will supervise content, product development and business operations.

Also on the CNN Plus team are Alex MacCullum, CNN’s Worldwide head of product, who will be GM of CNN Plus; Rebecca Kutler, senior VP and head of programming for CNN Plus; Courtney Coupe, senior VP of content strategy and operations for CNN Plus, and Robyn Peterson, CNN Worldwide’s chief technology officer. 

“For 41 years, global audiences have turned to CNN as an essential source of news and information, which is rooted in our deep commitment to quality journalism,” Morse said. “CNN Plus will be built on a foundation of world class reporting and storytelling and a commitment to meet our audiences wherever they are.”

Charter Communications said its Spectrum News networks averaged more than 3 million daily viewing households in April, more than any other broadcast or cable news outlet in the cable operator’s nine-state footprint, according to its own set-top data.  

“We had record-setting audience gains in April, seeing increases in viewership and engagement on both our linear and digital news platforms for the month,” said Spectrum Networks executive VP Mike Bair in a press release. “Our networks were created around community-based journalism. Communities deserve access to objective reporting and deeply-rooted stories that reflect all angles of an issue; our customers rely on Spectrum News for essential news they can trust.”

Also Read: Michael Bair Hones Spectrum Networks Local Edge 

On April 20, the day of the Derek Chauvin verdict, Spectrum News networks recorded higher set-top box viewership than all broadcast networks where Spectrum has local news networks in California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Texas. On April 28, Spectrum’s live network-wide coverage of President Joe Biden’s address to the joint session of Congress and post-address special recorded its highest-ever set-top box viewership for a national special, besting all broadcast and cable news networks’ averages in Spectrum News markets.

Highlights for the month include: 

Spectrum News Bay News 9 and News 13 in Florida: During major storms in Florida on April 11, Spectrum Bay News 9’s Nielsen ratings in Tampa (1.17) bested NBC (0.71), ABC (1.01), Fox News (0.88), CNN (0.48), MSNBC (0.60), and were seven times higher than the Weather Channel. In Orlando, Spectrum News 13’s viewership peaked from 1-2PM ET, drawing a larger audience than NBC, CNN and MSNBC combined.*

Spectrum News 1 North Carolina: The debut episode of “Front Porch Politics” with political anchor Tim Boyum on April 7 saw 25% higher ratings across the state than the previous 30-day average during the 8-8:30PM ET timeslot. **

Spectrum News 1 Ohio: The network’s new weekend morning news co-anchors Chuck Ringwalt and Brionna Rivers, who debuted on air in April, had an immediate impact on Spectrum News 1’s weekend morning audience, growing the network’s share of local news viewership by more than one point from Q1. **

Spectrum News 1 Kentucky: Since launching November 2018, Spectrum News 1 Kentucky’s engagement continues to grow, averaging higher engagement numbers than CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC combined. On April 5 the network introduced a new morning news format with more local news, stories and weather reports, co-anchored by Mario Anderson and Kayla Moody.  By the end of the month, Kentucky’s local news audience share grew 1.5% from 5-9AM and over 2% from 9AM-12PM. **

Spectrum said its Spectrum News App added more than 140,000 new downloads, bringing its total to over 1.1 million devices through May 6, a 5% overall increase from the previous month. On April 20, the day of Chauvin’s verdict, the app had more than 47,000 visits, the most of any day since launching last July. Visitors spent nearly 350,000 minutes in the app collectively, the fourth-highest total time spent since launch while live stream viewership accounted for 34% of time spent in the app.

*Nielsen metrics are based on Live+SD, Total Day household impressions in the following DMAs: Charlotte, Greensboro, Orlando, Raleigh, and Tampa.

**Spectrum set-top box data is sourced from all markets where Spectrum News has distribution, and are based on a minimum threshold of 5 consecutive minutes of viewing on one station to count as a viewing HH.

Any early prognostications about what television might look like in 2020 were rendered irrelevant by March, as the deadly COVID-19 pandemic swept away any sense of normalcy with regard to viewers’ relationship with the screen. 

Once a passive form of entertainment and escape from life, the television, computer and mobile screen became our main connection to those around us as the pandemic forced many of us inside our homes for much of the year.

As many companies took to apps like Zoom to conduct business virtually, the pandemic shut down most TV show production for the spring and summer, leaving major holes in the programming lineups of networks and streaming services. Programmers were left to schedule marathons of older shows as well as movies to fill in for original series that had not finished their episode allotments.

Big Year for News Nets

Add to that the explosion of protests against social injustice around the country in response to the May killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers — as well as the buildup to the November presidential election — and viewers flocked to the cable news networks, led by Fox News Channel. Viewers tuned into Fox News, MSNBC and CNN in record numbers in November to follow the election and its aftermath, according to Nielsen.  

ALSO READ: The Longest Night

Viewers also turned to the web, where new streaming services from WarnerMedia (HBO Max) and NBCUniversal (Peacock) joined The Walt Disney Co. (Disney Plus) and industry veterans Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and CBS All Access in what industry observers have dubbed the “streaming wars.” Next month, Discovery will join the fray with its own direct-to-consumer service, Discovery Plus. 

Not all new streaming services survived the year. Quibi — led by movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman — folded shop Dec. 1, about eight months after its much-anticipated launch, due its inability to sign up enough subscribers to match lofty company expectations.

Day-and-Date Arrives

The pandemic also shut down most movie theaters, forcing some studios to turn to the streaming services to offer their major new releases at the same time as they hit the big screen. The unprecedented day-and-date scenario was cheered by viewers who can now see big ticket films like Disney’s Mulan, which premiered on Disney Plus on Sept. 4 after being pulled from its scheduled March theatrical release, as well as Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman 1984 and Pixar’s Soul (both set to debut this Christmas on HBO Max and Disney Plus, respectively.) While the move has been welcomed by viewers it’s been panned by theater owners who believe it will inevitably hurt ticket sales once cinemas are allowed to open again. 

ALSO READ: HBO Max Gets WarnerMedia’s Entire 2021 Film Slate Day and Date

Warner Bros. has upped the ante going into 2021 by announcing it will debut its full 17-movie theatrical lineup — including such movies as Matrix 4, a Suicide Squad sequel and Godzilla vs. Kong — on HBO Max a day-and-date basis.

“After considering all available options and the projected state of moviegoing throughout 2021, we came to the conclusion that this was the best way for WarnerMedia’s motion picture business to navigate the next 12 months,” WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said in a statement. “Our content is extremely valuable, unless it’s sitting on a shelf not being seen by anyone. We believe this approach serves our fans, supports exhibitors and filmmakers and enhances the HBO Max experience, creating value for all.” 

Sports Interrupted

No content category was challenged more by the pandemic than live sports programming. When sports leagues suspended their schedules in March, it first created a void, then play resumed amid unprecedented scheduling issues. The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League completed their regular seasons in late summer and early fall, alongside Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. 

When live professional sports events returned, so did viewers. Individual ratings for the Stanley Cup Finals, NBA Finals and the World Series fell short from the year-ago numbers, but industry observers said the cumulative audience for sports content this fall bodes well for the leagues when those events return to their traditional seasons.

ALSO READ: Sports Title Tilts Take Ratings Hit

“Overall, sports viewership has gone up in terms of the amount of hours people are watching sports, along with the digital consumption of sports content which went up substantially [in October],” said TV sports consultant Lee Berke. “Once everything gets back in a pattern, I’m not foreseeing much of an issue.”

The pandemic didn’t curtail interest in the pay-per-view event category as several 2020 boxing and mixed martial arts events drew buy figures above expectations. Two events, May’s UFC 251 and this past November’s Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. boxing exhibition fight, reportedly drew more than 1 million PPV buys — the category’s gold standard — in the midst of the pandemic.

Look for both traditional PPV distributors like In Demand and streaming sports services such as ESPN Plus and FITE to offer sports fans a significant number of quality PPV sports events as fans ante up for content they want to see. All-time pay-per-view boxing champion Floyd Mayweather will test the appeal of an all-digital PPV event in February when he fights YouTube star Logan Paul. 

Black News Channel (BNC) has postponed its scheduled Nov. 15 launch to 2020 in an effort to take advantage of new technologies and distribution platforms, network officials said. 

“Our network is about providing intelligent programming that is informative, educational, inspiring and empowering to our African American audience, so they are participants in a national conversation,” says J.C. Watts, Jr., co-founder and chairman for BNC in a statement. “If we have the opportunity to include the largest African American audience possible from day one, then that should be our top priority.”

With the delay, the network hopes to more than triple its viewing audience of more than 30 million subscribers across traditional cable and digital MVPD's currently signed up for the service, said network officials. 

The broadcast networks’ news departments are prepping their coverage for the Brett Kavanaugh hearing the morning of Sept. 27, as the Supreme Court nominee and Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kavanaugh is nominated for a Supreme Court seat. Ford has alleged that he sexually assaulted her in 1982.

Related: Judiciary Outlines Potentially Historic Kavanaugh Hearing

The hearing starts at 10 a.m. in Washington. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty said there will be three cameras in the hearing room. "One camera focused on the witness, one camera focused on the questioner, and one cuts camera,” said the CNN Congressional correspondent, according to Brian Stelter.

Related: Kavanaugh Concedes to Past, Cringeworthy, Acts

NBC News goes live at 9:30 a.m. with Lester Holt, NBC Nightly News anchor, heading up the coverage. Today co-anchor/NBC News chief legal correspondent Savannah Guthrie, NBC News political director Chuck Todd, Megyn Kelly Today host Megyn Kelly and chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell pitch in.

ABC News goes live at 10 a.m. Thursday, as chief anchor George Stephanopoulos leads network coverage. World News Tonight anchor David Muir anchors from Capitol Hill, where senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce provides live updates. Terry Moran, ABC News chief foreign correspondent, reports from the Supreme Court. Correspondents Jonathan Karl, Cecilia Vega, Sunny Hostin, Dan Abrams and Cokie Roberts also contribute.

CBS News is set to go live at 10 a.m., too. CBS This Morning, which airs 7-9 a.m., will originate from Washington. Morning anchors Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson, and CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor, will anchor coverage of the hearing. Contributors include Nancy Cordes, Jan Crawford, Ed O’Keefe, Weijia Jiang and Paula Reid.

Fox News Channel coverage will be co-anchored by Special Report’s Bret Baier and The Story’s Martha MacCallum. Additional contributions will come from Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace, Fox News @ Night’s Shannon Bream, senior political analyst Brit Hume, senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano and contributors Marie Harf and Mollie Hemingway.

CNN has Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper anchoring in Washington. Pitching in will be Dana Bash, John King, Gloria Borger, Nia-Malika Henderson, Joan Biskupic and Jeffrey Toobin.

CNN will live-stream the hearing beginning at 8:30 AM and won’t require log-in to the user’s pay-TV provider. It will be available on CNN.com and through mobile devices.

The broadcast networks will use their 24/7 platforms to help cover the day’s events. That includes ABC News Live, CBSN and MSNBC.