FTS to Distribute its Local News Content across Amazon Devices
NEW YORK – FOX Television Stations (FTS) and Amazon have jointly announced they are teaming up to distribute FTS’s local news content across Amazon’s devices. Effective immediately, FTS will provide seventeen 24/7 local, free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels, one from each market covered by the FOX Television Stations, through the Amazon News app on Fire TV and Alexa on Echo Show devices.
“This important collaboration with Amazon further solidifies our commitment to bring FTS’s powerhouse local news content to as many people as possible,” said Jeff Zellmer, Senior Vice President, Digital Operations, FOX Television Stations. “We know that choice and accessibility matter to our viewers and this launch is another key step in our overall strategy and goal of giving our viewers the live and on-demand content from the stations they love.”
This collaboration began in March 2022 with the initial distribution of LiveNOW from FOX and FOX Soul FAST channels. In December 2022, FTS’s local news content debuted across Amazon products with the distribution of the first five stations: WTXF FOX 29 Philadelphia, KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco, KSAZ FOX 10 Phoenix, WJBK FOX 2 Detroit, and KMSP FOX 9 Minneapolis. The remaining twelve, WNYW FOX 5 New York, KTTV FOX 11 Los Angeles, WFLD FOX 32 Chicago, KDFW FOX 4 Dallas, WAGA FOX 5 Atlanta, KRIV FOX 26 Houston, WTTG FOX 5 DC, KCPQ FOX 13 Seattle, WTVT FOX 13 Tampa Bay, WOFL FOX 35 Orlando, KTBC FOX 7 Austin and WITI FOX 6 Milwaukee, are now available across Amazon products, such as Fire TV and Echo Show devices. In addition to live content, FTS is also distributing local news video on demand (VOD) clips.
Amazon’s News app on Fire TV is a free and customizable news aggregator that is supported with advertising. The app comes built into the Fire TV experience on all Fire TV streaming media players and smart TVs in the U.S. When viewers open the News app on the Fire TV home screen for the first time, they can select the news that matters most to them from national and local sources.
Customers in the U.S. can also watch local news channels in 250 cities from more than 300 local news providers on Echo Show devices. With this update, Alexa will make it easier to learn about the latest news stories in local communities from FOX Local News—all hands-free. Just say, “Alexa play Phoenix news,” “Alexa play Seattle news,” etc. to get started.
ABOUT THE FOX TELEVISION STATIONS
FOX Television Stations owns and operates 29 full power broadcast television stations in the U.S. These include stations located in nine of the top ten largest designated market areas (DMAs), and duopolies in 11 DMAs, including the three largest DMAs (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago). Of these stations, 17 are affiliated with the FOX Network. In addition to distributing sports, entertainment and syndicated content, our television stations collectively produce over 1,000 hours of local news every week. These stations leverage viewer, distributor and advertiser demand for the FOX Network’s national content.