ABC News has launched its live news app for Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. The newly released native apps give users of these two TV platforms access to 24/7 live breaking news, live events, and original programming, as well as on-demand clips and documentaries.
The launches come at a time when as-it-happens updates have become critical with the need for information about the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) constantly growing.
The ABC News Live app will provide viewers with ABC News Special Reports and critical COVID-19 updates with shows including “Pandemic: What You Need to Know,” and more. ABC says the app will broadcast up to 18 hours of live, anchored news programs daily this year.
The new ABC News Live app for Android TV and Amazon Fire TV also brings an interface redesign with breaking news alerts and an updated programming guide. This redesign will reach Roku and Apple TV in mid-April.
ABC News Live is currently available on Roku, Hulu Live, Xumo, Sling TV, Facebook, Twitter, ABCNews.com, and the ABC News and ABC mobile apps. The new update will also include a change to the ABC News Live branding on connected TV platforms.
ABC says its ABC News Live app has seen a 150-percent year-over-year (YoY) increase in monthly viewers in the past month. Weekly viewers also jumped 103-percent in March.
Now with the addition of Android TV and Amazon Fire TV platforms, ABC News will be catering to an even broader audience.
ABC-owned TV stations launch native apps
Eight ABC-owned TV stations are also launching native apps for Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Apple TV. The apps will elevate the local news experience for viewers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno.
Los Angeles’ KABC-TV is the first to launch its app on Android TV. KABC’s Apple TV and Roku apps will also launch in early April.
The TV station is also making enhancements to its existing Fire TV app. Native apps for the other seven ABC-owned TV stations will be launching later this month.
Content from the eight ABC-owned stations will also be available in ABC News Live to viewers in the local market. Users can also add content from other stations, though.
ABC News’ TV Stations reached a record-high 77 million devises in March 2020. ABC-owned stations produced an aggregate average of 400 hours of live local coverage each week last month, with viewers watching more than 170 million minutes of news coverage in total.