Graham Media Group is taking to streaming to give its stations more hours of morning news.
KPRC Houston and WDIV Detroit on Monday will each launch an additional hour of their morning newscasts that will stream exclusively on digital platforms and over-the-top apps.
The stations’ apps employ the “Plus” branding frequently used by national streamers like Disney Plus and CNN Plus, to name only two.
The KPRC2 Plus and Local 4 Plus apps are available via the Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Google V stores. The newscasts can also be found on Click2Houston.com and ClickonDetroit.com.
“We’ve reimagined our streaming news products to meet the needs of our viewers. They’ve clearly told us they want more local news from the brands they trust most and we’re providing that with our original news programs on Local4 Plus,” said Bob Ellis, WDIV VP and general manager. “Unlocking the combined power of our local television news, our market leading news website, and our trusted anchors and reporters means more quality content more often. The streaming numbers on our app continue to grow rapidly and we’re committed to serving these new audiences now and in the weeks and months ahead with much more quality content coming.
KPRC’s new morning hour will stream from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. on KPRC2 Plus. The station’s Owen Conflenti, Lisa Hernandez, meteorologist Anthony Yanez and Anavid Reyes with traffic will be working overtime. Reyes and Amy Davis will have expanded versions of their consumer and transit stories.
WDIV’s extra morning hour will stream from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Local4 Plus and will feature morning news team Rhonda Walker, Evrod Cassimy, meteorologist Brandon Roux, traffic reporter Kim DeGiullo and reporter Nick Monacelli. WDIV added a 10 p.m. weeknight newscast streaming exclusively on Local4 Plus earlier this year.
Other Graham stations have been turning to streaming to deliver more news to viewers. Earlier this year KSAT-TV in San Antonio launched a daily 11 a.m. streaming newscast KSAT News Now and a weekly news feature KSAT Explains on KSAT Plus. WSLS started a daily digital-only newsbrief called The Sprint and WKGMV offered streamers Choose Your View coverage of space launches from Kennedy Space Center and the local July 4 fireworks.
WJXT, Graham’s station in Jacksonville, also offered a Choose Your View stream when a downtown skyscraper was imploded in March. ■
