Amazon’s free news app for the Fire TV streamer has expanded to nearly 90 cities in the United States. With this expansion, the software currently offers more than 120 channels.
Serving Local News in Nearly 90 Markets
Some of the areas where the app now provides news include Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, Fayetteville, Fresno, Fort Myers, Grand Rapids, Great Falls, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Lafayette, Memphis, Nashville, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, St. Louis, Tucson, Tulsa, and Orlando.
Brian Lawlor, Scripps’ president of local media, said in a press release:
Amazon’s thoughtful expansion of local news content on its Fire TV devices is a strong testament to the power of local news to keep communities safe and informed through everything 2020 has brought us, and everything ahead in 2021.
The full list of cities where the app now offers local news is available on The Verge.
Amazon has expanded news coverage with support from the regional divisions of ABC, CBSN, TEGNA, Cox, The E.W. Scripps Company, and Altice USA. Aside from local news, which gets its own tab in the app, customers can also access content from ABC News Live, CBS News, Reuters, Cheddar, Entertainment Weekly, Black News Channel, and more.
The software basically acts as your free, customizable news aggregator supported with advertising. The company introduced local news coverage in this app a few months ago.
It’s Preinstalled on Your Fire TV
Amazon customers can also install other apps which let them stream local news for free.
However, Amazon’s software has one key advantage—it’s preinstalled on the Fire TV streamers and smart TVs sold in the US so there’s no need to download it manually.
Upon opening the app for the first time, you’ll be greeted with a prompt asking you to cherry-pick the news that matters most to you. This permits the software to personalize your experience and focus on stories and local news relevant to you.
Based on your preferences and topics of interest, the AI-powered software will automatically create a custom playlist on your behalf. You can also start the app up by saying “Alexa, play the news,” “Alexa, play local news” or similar with the included Fire TV voice remote or from across the room with the Fire TV Cube or the Echo speaker.
If you’d like to follow local news in even more cities than the Amazon app currently supports, you should check out the free NewsOn app, available on the Fire TV along with the Roku.
With it, you get live and on-demand news broadcasts via 275 news stations in over 165 markets. While NewsON will cater to your particular area, you can also watch local news channels from other US cities.
