Hulu’s Live TV subscription bundle is expanding to include two additional live news channels. The over the top streaming service has just added ABC News Live and CBSN to growing lineup.
What’s happening:
- Variety reports that Hulu has added two new streaming news channels to their Live TV lineup.
- Along with internet news channel Cheddar, subscribers to Hulu with the Live TV package will now be able to view even more news 24-hours a day with the addition of ABC News Live and CBSN.
ABC News Live:
- The internet news channel launched on the Roku Channel May.
- Since then it has expanded to Facebook Watch and is also available on ABC’s owned-and-operated properties such as:
- ABCNews.com
- ABC Mobile apps
- ABC News Live can also be streamed on Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.
- Programing on this channel focuses on live, unedited news coverage versus headline news with contributions coming from 1,300 correspondents world wide.
- The channel currently does not have advertisement, just network promos. Their median viewing audience is under 40 years of age and they are on track to stream 1 million hours per week.
CBSN:
- This division of CBS launched in 2014 and has been bringing live news coverage to viewers from its world wide journalists.
- CBSN has aired 25 original documentaries and also recently launched CBSN AM, its first live daily programming in the 7-8 a.m. ET hour.
- CBSN is available:
- CBSNews.com
- CBS News apps for mobile and connected-TV devices
- CBS All Access subscription service
What they’re saying:
- Colby Smith, ABC News’ senior VP of content and partnerships: “They’re a major player in the OTT space. We ultimately want [ABC News Live] to be ubiquitous – wherever cord-cutters and young audiences are.”
- Colby Smith: “We feel there’s a large, young audience disenfranchised with the cable-news format. We’re trying to do something no one else is doing – it’s more live, in-the-field and raw, showing how news is gathered.”
- Christy Tanner, EVP and GM, CBS News Digital, said in a prepared statement: “This is an important step in our ongoing strategy of expanding distribution of CBSN, now available on multiple [internet pay-TV services] as well as our CBS News digital platforms.”
Other news channels included in Hulu’s Live TV bundle:
- CNBC
- CNN
- CNN International
- Fox News Channel
- Fox Business Network
- HLN
More Hulu:
- In September, Hulu announced a partnership with Discovery Inc. that will allow viewers to access thousands of episodes on a variety of topics covering real life entertainment.
- The streaming service announced that its Live-TV offering reached 1 million subscribers late this summer. Then it took a unique approach with its new commercial that debuted during the Emmys, encouraging viewers to never get Hulu.