Sinclair Broadcast Group is planning to premiere a headline news service in early 2021, the company announced Wednesday.
The show will air weekday mornings from 6-9 a.m. on Sinclair’s CW and MY network affiliates, as well as on STIRR, the company’s free, ad-supported over-the-top streaming platform.
Anchors will report on news “as it happens,” providing “dynamic and timely journalism and insight into the most important stories happening each day,” according to the announcement. The program will primarily feature “commentary-free” content from Sinclair’s network of local broadcast stations, as well as original content produced specifically for the new show.
“With this new service, a solo anchor will bring viewers on a journey across the country to highlight stories happening in the moment, covering the issues and events that are driving the day’s conversations,” Sinclair’s announcement further explains. “Audiences will be taken on a minute-by-minute journey to the intersection of news and their community, offering an understanding of how the news impacts them.”
The announcement follows the addition of channels COVID-19 News and Election 2020 to STIRR. According to the company, those channels were “incredibly well-received by audiences” and are among the most-watched on the service.
STIRR, which debuted in Jan. 2019, was created as a streaming service that would bring local TV news to cord-cutters nationwide – it hit 1.6 million downloads in its first year. The platform streams a curated, 24/7 program lineup based on where viewers live.