The Cord-Cutter Dream: Video News App Watchup Launches on Xbox 360
Innovative video news aggregator debuts on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 with new interactive features
Menlo Park, CA, November 25, 2014 – Watchup, the Stanford startup reimagining TV news, announced today that its video aggregator news app is now available on Xbox 360. Watchup is one of a handful of innovative apps to be featured on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 platform.
With Watchup on Xbox 360, users can watch videos from some of the most credible names in news like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Sky News and CNET, among others, without a cable subscription.
According to the latest Adobe Digital Index, the fastest growing device for online TV watching from 2013 to 2014 is the OTT/Gaming Console category.
Furthermore, viewers can engage with Watchup using voice and gesture control, a unique approach to watching and interacting with news through a leading gaming platform. Watchup’s first-in-class app offers consumers a personalized TV newscast experience based on viewers’ preferences.
“Watchup on Xbox 360 is a dream come true for cord-cutters and digitally savvy users who want to watch trusted news channels via the Internet,” said Adriano Farano, co-founder and chief executive officer of Watchup. “Our mission is to increase access to and interest in multimedia news, to people on all the most popular platforms.” said Farano.
The Xbox 360 app is being released just one month after the company debuted on the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV stick, two OTT streaming devices intended to transform television sets into connected TV's. The company, which has been mobile first since 2012, is expanding its focus to include a wide variety of emerging screens.
"It may seen counterintuitive to develop an Xbox 360 app as the world moves on to Xbox One, but 360 is the console everyone already owns," said Farano. "Our app is free and there seems to be a large number of people using the internet to stream video as an alternative to cable, we saw great potential for strong product market fit and we're excited to see how Watchup performs."
For a first hand look at the Watchup app on Xbox 360 in action, please view Watchup’s video here.
Watchup’s Top Five Features on Xbox 360
• Interact, Voice and body gesture activation. Watchup’s video news aggregator app, on the Xbox 360, helps people to interact with video news stories through voice control, as well as body gestures using Kinect.
• Curate news from multiple sources. Unlike other news apps that just feature one point of view, Watchup provides 360 degree views on news stories, pulling from multiple media sources including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Fox News, Fox Business, Sky News, Euronews, The Street and CNET, among others.
• Personalize your experience. In addition to having your personalized newscast, Watchup provides access to all the content you can consume. Launch a category stream for a multi-source newscast about one singular news topic or launch a channel stream for all the content from one channel about multiple topics.
• Watch news when you want to. Watchup allows you to watch videos at your convenience, as well as, play continuously.
• Share news with Facebook friends. Use your Facebook account to share news videos directly with friends on Facebook by posting them directly to your wall without leaving the Xbox app. Watchup recently announced the company had raised $2.75 million in additional seed funding from leading investors including, Tribune Media, The McClatchy Company and others. Microsoft Ventures is also an investor in Watchup. Watchup is available for free on Xbox 360, the Amazon App Store, iOS and Android devices. Multimedia Assets at http://Watchup.com/press
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About Watchup
Incubated at StartX, the Stanford startup accelerator, Watchup reinvents the way we watch the news with a personalized multi-channel experience. Watchup is the only video app constantly featured by Apple in the iPad App Store since February 2013 and is a winner of the Knight Foundation News Challenge.
Media Contact
Lauren Jones
Editorial Manager, Watchup
(650) 453-8541
