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The E.W. Scripps Co. will soon launch its popular over-the-top national news network Newsy over the air as well — serving the growing free OTA market of cord-cutting self-bundlers.
Newsy’s distribution over the air will make it the only American news television network with ubiquitous OTT and OTA distribution, Scripps says.
At its launch on Oct. 1, Newsy will be available over the air in at least 80% of U.S. television homes — and in all major markets — carried primarily by Scripps-owned Ion stations and select Scripps stations plus those of other station groups.
“Amid an increasingly polarized and divided national climate, Newsy will seize upon this opportunity to serve more Americans seeking quality objective journalism,” said Scripps Networks President Lisa Knutson. “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.”
Newsy offers viewers reporting that Scripps says “informs instead of influencing — providing fresh perspective, no-hype delivery and added context.” The network targets a highly coveted audience of active news consumers falling into the millennial demographic, making it a natural fit for the OTA marketplace, it says. Over-the-air viewing is experiencing rapid growth today, with digital antenna ownership up 40% from 2019 to 2020, to more than 50 million U.S. TV households, according to an October 2020 OTA usage study by Horowitz Research.
Newsy’s journalism is Emmy-nominated and has won prestigious awards including