Watchup Adds More Local News

By Karen Fratti 

watchuprecent1Watchup, the app for anyone who wants to watch the news without a cable bundle, is slowly stocking its library with more and more choices. This morning, they announced a partnership with Meredith and Scripps, Lilly Broadcasting, Bonten Media Group and KHQ, Inc., a Cowles-owned company. Last month, they added Tribune Media outlets to their library, so in all, cord cutters have a better chance than ever at catching local news.

Founder Adriano Farano said in an official statement that:

Watchup is creating an alternative to traditional TV watching that supports the surging trend for over-the-top media consumption. I’m thrilled to bring our users news coverage about their community.

Advertisement

That coverage of their community is no big thing. Often, sports and local news are the main driver of people just not getting rid of their cable packages. With this new partnership, there are 51 additional markets to stream from. The app geo-locates you, so you won’t have to scroll through news video that doesn’t have anything to do with you. According to a Pew Research Center report earlier this year, television news is often lagging in terms of covering more long-form, investigative stories. And the outlets included in the new Watchup lineup won’t be producing platform specific content for them. Yet.

In addition Tribune, Scripps, and Meredith, the app also features channels from Fusion, PBS Newshour, Bloomberg Media, and the Washington Post. It’s also supported on XBox and Fire TV so users can take it to the big screen.

Watchup is more like a Pandora for news than a Netflix, since there’s no original content for it. You don’t have to have the app to watch PBS Newshour. But it’s a good option and as more outlets are featured, there’ll be more reason for cord cutters to get their news from apps like Watchup.

Advertisement