Roku is adding ABC News Live, Cheddar, People TV and Newsy to its ad-supported channel.
"It's a lot like a CNN moment for OTT," said Roku's vice president of programming, Rob Holmes, during a briefing with Variety.
The new free News Live channel, which will feature 24-hour news and live event coverage, will carry programming from ABC News' network of correspondents, but these live feeds will be complemented by live video feeds from social media put into context by news hosts.
The aim is to steer away from the concept of traditional news anchors and to instead use show hosts as news navigators.
"Our ambition is not to recast cable, but to reinvent what a 24/7 news channel can look like today," said Colby Smith, ABC News' vice president of digital, in an interview with Engadget.
"Viewers want to be shown what is happening in the world not told what is happening in the world," he said, per USA Today.
Meanwhile the introduction of Cheddar, People TV and Newsy is a nod toward pre-programmed content as a linear feed that would allow viewers to enjoy watching internet TV, Variety noted.
The Roku Channel launched last October and already has 19.3 million active accounts viewing hundreds of free movies and TV shows available on its streaming players and smart TVs, USA Today said.
What makes the streaming channel so appealing is that it features about half the advertisements that would appear on typical ad-supported TV broadcasts.
Roku is aiming to roll out the live news channels in May, and while viewers will be able to watch the channels on ABC's website and mobile app, Roku's platform will be its exclusive home on streaming devices, according to Engadget.
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