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If Sinclair has its way, viewers will never see STIRR as anything other than local.
The broadcaster’s network of local streaming channels, iterating in Sinclair markets with a more specific STIRR City moniker, pairs local news content (or content from adjacent markets) with syndicated programming in a day-parted linear structure along with a VOD menu.
Adam Ware, Sinclair’s VP of national networks and platforms and the executive behind STIRR, says the streaming network’s core value proposition is to feel local to its viewers, even when some programming may originate out of other markets or come from other content partners.
“There is a local relevance going back to local cable access, TV stations doing local news, high school sports,” Ware says. “That is a critical ingredient to any kind of direct-to-consumer strategy.”
In an interview with TVNewsCheck Editor Michael Depp, Ware says Sinclair’s ultimate goal is to have local iterations for every single DMA, working with other station groups and news producing partners to fill in content gaps where it doesn’t have its own stations.
Revenue-wise, he says success will be driven by direct sales. Sinclair is making its biggest strides there in “long-form” content for advertisers — helping mega-churches reach new cities with streamed services, for instance, or a livestock auction business evolve from Facebook Live auction streams to a fully-fledged channel inside of STIRR.
“Don’t just keep trying to sell the same thing,” Ware says of his mandate to Sinclair’s account executives. “Look for new ways to give a