NEW YORK (AP) — Sinclair Broadcast wants to “Stirr” up streaming.
The nation’s largest owner of television stations launched a free, ad-supported streaming service Wednesday drawing on local news, sports and other programs from the 191 TV stations it owns in 89 U.S. markets.
Sinclair said the motivation behind Stirr is in part to help viewers “access the local news and lifestyle programming that is relevant to their everyday life.”
Sinclair was admonished by media watchdogs in April after the sports news service Deadspin pieced together clips of dozens of TV anchors for Sinclair reading from the same script. The script warned viewers about “biased and false news” from other media outlets. At the time, President Donald Trump tweeted his support of the company. Sinclair defended the effort as a way to distinguish its news shows from unreliable stories on social media.
Stirr comes just months after Sinclair’s $3.9 billion bid for Tribune Media collapsed because of regulatory concerns, ending a bid to create a massive media juggernaut that could have rivaled the reach of Fox News.
Media companies are entering the streaming fray to gain access to valuable data about what consumers watch. For services with ad-based options, that data translates into more dollars from advertisers.
