VUit, the free ad-supported streaming provider of local broadcast news from all over the country, has entered into a content licensing deal with Paramount Global that gives it access to the local news feeds of 13 CBS owned stations.
Syncbak, the privately held tech company that launched VUit in 2020 with investment from Gray Television, also secured from Paramount access to CBS national entertainment and lifestyle content from shows including Inside Edition.
With the addition of the CBS-owned stations, all of them situated in major TV markets including New York and Los Angeles, VUit now carries local news and content from more than 260 stations across the U.S. covering nearly 80% of the country's designated marketing areas (167 markets in all).
Meanwhile, the Paramount entertainment and lifestyle brands will come in the form of three distinct FAST channels -- “Mixible" (formerly known as “ET Live”), “Inside Edition,” and “Dabl,” which is CBS Media Ventures’ lifestyle network.
“From our continued expansion of local news streaming across the country, to becoming a fresh and intriguing model for the syndication of national content, major players in the media world recognize the power and potential of what we have built,” said Syncbak CEO Jack Perry, in a statement.
“In an increasingly streaming-first world, this deal is a win for everyone -- for the stations looking to expand revenue opportunities, for advertisers looking to reach audiences in hyper-local and hyper-targeted ways, and for viewers who want to access content in a flexible, easy manner," Perry added.
In June, Syncbak announced rapid advertising growth across the platform, including a 31% year-over-year increase in ads served between June 2021 and June 2022, a 37% average CPM increase in the first half of the year, and revenue sharing among station groups growing by 121% for the first half of 2022.
Year to date, revenue sharing is up 192%, Syncbak added. ■
