Gray Television-backed VUit, a free, ad-supported national streaming service, has announced major agreements with eight station groups and independent stations like Hearst Television, Cox, Citadel Communications, Morris Network, and News Press & Gazette to further expand their hyperlocal offerings.
The platform will get 71 new stations from some of the nation’s prominent markets, including Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Boston, Sacramento, and Orlando. Now, VUit’s local coverage is at 174 out of 210 local markets across the U.S.
VUit has recently seen high engagement on its platform, with an average user streaming eight hours of content per month. Viewers all over have the ability to tune into local programming from specific DMAs with over 82% of local markets covered by the FAST platform. The service was launched in late 2020.
Pat LaPlatney, Co-CEO & President at Gray Television, says, “VUit has enabled our local stations to reach viewers with not only live news and programming relevant to them but locally-produced on-demand content that viewers from across the country tune into. We want every local station to be streaming on VUit. Viewers download the app to watch their local channel, and stick around to watch programming from local stations all across the country.”
The national groups and locally-owned newsrooms signed with VUit include WSNN, Citadel Communications’ Suncoast News Network, Bahakel Communications, Marks Radio Group, WFMJ Television in Youngstown, and more. Cox Media Group cut a deal a month ago, giving VUit access to 10 stations from 10 markets: Atlanta, Seattle-Tacoma, Charlotte, and more.
Jack Perry, CEO of VUit parent Syncbak, says, “We’re looking forward to working with these high caliber partners who create the kinds of content that in many cases appeals to viewers well beyond the local market. They are not only adding volume, but also quality that will enable VUit to continue to affirm its position as a top destination for hyperlocal programming.”
VUit
VUit is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to content produced by 260+ local TV news stations around the United States. Its partners include Lilly Broadcasting, Heritage Broadcasting, and Gray Television. The service covers 78% of the nation’s DMAs.