Breaking: Amazon Fire TV Launches Free Streaming Channels of NBC, Telemundo Local Stations
Local news has long been one of the main draws keeping people tethered to traditional pay-TV subscriptions, but as more and more consumers continue to cut the cord, streaming is increasingly finding ways to deliver the local experience that viewers otherwise would be giving up. On Friday, NBCUniversal and Amazon announced that Amazon Fire TV owners now have access to more than a dozen local news channels from NBC and Telemundo via the Amazon News app.
These free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels are available to viewers in the United States and are available 24/7. Amazon’s News app is built into Fire TV’s menu for free and can be customized to aggregate all of the news to keep you up-to-date on the region and topics important to you. When viewers first open the News app from the Fire TV home screen, they will be prompted to select the national and local news sources that they want to see in the future, giving them complete control over their news-watching experience.
“We are excited to grow our existing partnership with Amazon, expanding the reach of our local news content to millions of people on Fire TV and Echo Show devices,” NBCU content distribution president Matt Schnaars said. “News continues to be a top choice for viewers, and we are proud to reach new audiences with best-in-class journalism from our local stations.”
The channels now available on Fire TV include:
- Noticias Telemundo Noreste
- Noticias Telemundo California
- Noticias Telemundo Texas
- Noticias Telemundo Florida
- NBC New York News
- NBC Los Angeles News
- NBC Chicago News
- NBC Philadelphia News
- NBC Dallas News
- NBC Washington, D.C. News
- NBC Boston News
- NBC Bay Area News
- NBC South Florida News
- NBC San Diego News
- NBC Connecticut News
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In addition to the channels available on Fire TV, the NBC-owned stations are also available on Echo Show devices. Echo Show owners can say, “Alexa, play news,” in order to watch their favorite local news channels from over 300 local news providers across 250 cities.
“We are thrilled to bring our NBC and Telemundo stations’ local news, weather and community information to Fire TV audiences and Echo Show users,” NBCU Local EVP Meredith McGinnsaid. “Powered by our NBC and Telemundo stations in the country’s top TV regions, our local news streaming channels deliver a premium news offering for English and Spanish-speakers, and we cannot wait to introduce our respected news brands to Amazon’s streaming audiences.”
This is just the latest step that NBCU has made to make its local news broadcasts more accessible to streaming TV viewers. Last November, the company brought 214 local affiliates to the Premium tier of Peacock in an effort to provide local programming to customers without a traditional TV subscription. Unlike the NBCU FAST channels, on Peacock, you are only able to watch the affiliate for your market, but it is still a great way to stay connected to the news and information in your region.
In total, NBCU offers 11 local NBC news FAST channels and four Telemundo regional news channels. In addition to Fire TV, the 24/7 local channels are already available on Peacock, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, and Xumo Play.
Amazon Fire TV
Amazon Fire TV is a streaming device that can be used to watch Live TV Streaming Services and On Demand Streaming Services.
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