Free Streaming Services Local Now & XUMO Expand Their Channel Offerings

Free streaming services continue to grow their offerings.

The European Country Music TV Channel, Country Music Entertainment (CME) is now available on the free streamer Local Now.

On the other side of the map, Canadian producer, distributor, and channel operator Blue Ant Media will launch its new FAST channel Homeful, on the free, ad-supported streaming service, XUMO.

Country Music Entertainment (CME) has a selection of country music videos primarily from the independent record labels or the artists themselves in Nashville and around the world. CME has created and produced a 24-hour linear channel covering varying categories across all eras and subgenres. These include Country Groups, Guys, Gals, Indie, Today’s Country, Americana, Roots, Bluegrass, International, as well as nostalgic content from the 60s–90s.

The partnership with Local Now is part of CME’s wider strategy to showcase a wide selection of different styles of Country Music and feature Independent and well-known artists from the world of Country Music. Local Now will help CME expand to over 225 markets across the U.S.

Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Local Now parent company Allen Media Group said, “We are elated that our Local Now audience will have the best country music available to them for free… Country music and its loyal fans are great, and we strongly believe they will enjoy this extensively-curated content on Local Now.”

Local Now has 420+ free streaming channels, including a Local Now channel in every DMA in the USA, along with 12,000 movies, TV shows, and documentaries.

“We are excited to expand our linear footprint in the U.S with a rapidly-rising free-streaming service like Local Now, utilized across more than 225 local U.S. markets by millions of consumers, who watch music videos and other premium content through connected devices,” said Lee Williams, Director of Content for Country Music Entertainment TV.

Meanwhile, Blue Ant Media’s new specialty lifestyle FAST channel, Homeful, made its debut in the U.S. on XUMO. Homeful gives audiences a programming lineup of real estate content as well as renovations and transformations.

Homeful is an extension of Blue Ant Media’s existing partnership with XUMO, which also includes the Love Nature FAST channel, which launched on the platform in May 2020. The lifestyle channel joins XUMO’s roster of over 200 channels across 12 different genres.

“Homeful, which is packed with fan favorite, exclusive home-themed series, is a great addition to our growing portfolio of free streaming channels that super-serve niche audiences with compelling content they love to lean back and enjoy. This channel will fill a gap in the FAST landscape for home-themed content and provide inspiration at a time when renovations and redecorating are a hot topic as we all spend more time at home,” says Jamie Schouela, President, Global Channels and Media, Blue Ant Media.

Homeful is Blue Ant’s Media’s second free streaming channel to launch in the U.S. in February, following TotalCrime which debuted earlier in the month. They join a growing roster of Blue Ant FAST channels that also include Love Nature and HauntTV.

Highlights on the channel include “Sarah 101,” “Candice Tells All,” “What’s For Sale?,” and “Lakes, Docks and Decks,” among other shows that have “feel-good moments with real estate, design and decor projects that help make a house a home.”

Blue Ant Media’s suite of FAST (free, ad-supported streaming TV) channels offers audiences curated programming that is easy and free to access on platforms like The Roku Channel, XUMO, Samsung TV Plus, VIZIO WatchFree+, and PrendeTV. The company operates several linear and FAST channels, including Love Nature, Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth (Canada), BBC First (Canada), HauntTV, CrimeTime, and TotalCrime.