Scripps is expanding Newsy as an over-the-air channel (OTA) on October 1. Newsy is currently an over-the-top (OTT) network. The expansion will be available in more than 80% of United States TV homes. It will be accessible through ION Media stations owned by Scripps and some Scripps local TV stations. While Newsy is based in Atlanta, other bureaus in Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, and Washington, D.C. will be included.
In March, Scripps leadership talked about their plans for expanding their OTA reach. This came just months after they bought ION Media to create a new TV business.
Newsy is already available through several streaming services, including Pluto TV, Xumo, Samsung TV+, and Vizio WatchFree. It can also be accessed on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Google Chromecast.
By going OTA, Newsy will be available for free to anyone with an antenna. More than 50 million U.S. homes have an antenna.
Scripps Networks President Lisa Knutson talks about the upcoming launch of their OTA channel, saying, “Amid an increasingly polarized and divided national climate, Newsy will seize upon this opportunity to serve more Americans seeking quality objective journalism. As TV viewers ‘self-bundle’ by combining free television with subscription video-on-demand services, Newsy will build on its successes in OTT by joining the other Scripps Networks in the over the air marketplace to bring these viewers high-quality, free news programming.”
Knutson also says, “Scripps expects to capitalize on the growing and younger OTA audience by continuing to build a leading news brand that caters to a younger generation of active news viewers. With the launch of Newsy OTA, we lock in more valuable TV real estate for viewers to engage with our programming, allowing us to further monetize our already unparalleled ad inventory.”
At this point, Scripps has designated Kate O’Brian as the head of news. More details about the OTA programming are still yet to come prior to its launch.