NBCU Local Brings Streaming News to The Roku Channel

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
last updated

First markets include N.Y., L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, Hartford and South Florida

NBC New York Local on The Roku Channel
NBC New York Local and other streaming news channels are available on The Roku Channel (Image credit: NBCU Local)

Roku said it made a deal to put NBCU Local streaming news channels on The Roku Channel, effective Tuesday.

The first channels to be included in The Roku Channel’s Live TV Guide are from NBC-owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Hartford and South Florida.

Other NBC Local streaming news channels will be added to The Roku Channel in the coming months. 

Roku said that the deal marks the first time local news will be available through The Roku Channel. Roku device users can also access local news channels from CBS stations, and local news programming from hundreds of stations via services including VUit, Local Now, Stirr, NewsOn and Haystack News.

While scripted and non-scripted entertainment programming have long been popular on streaming services, they are rapidly adding sports and news programming. The Roku Channel already offers national news offerings, including NBC News Now.

“Audiences are increasingly opting to consume news through streaming, and local news has consistently been one of the top requested categories by our users,” said Ashley Hovey, head of The Roku Channel, AVOD. “We’re excited to work with NBCUniversal Local and the NBC Stations to expand our relevant live TV offering for streamers and to bring news from multiple major cities to millions of viewers across the country to easily access and enjoy.”

Viewers of The Roku Channel can watch the local news from any of the available NBC stations regardless of where they're located.

In January, NBCU Local began launching its local stations’ streaming news channels on the company’s Peacock platform. Initial channels include NBC Chicago News, NBC Philadelphia News and NBC Boston News and NBC Miami News.

“Local news has never been more vital to helping our audiences stay informed about what’s happening in their communities,” said Meredith McGinn, executive VP of diginets and original production, at NBCUniversal Local. “We look forward to bringing our NBC local news channels and our stations’ best-in-class journalism to the millions of people The Roku Channel reaches and to launching more of our NBC local news channels to expand streamers’ access to our local news content.” 

The NBC local news channels will feature the latest local news, breaking updates, weather forecasts, and live events. ■

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.