CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bell has decided to start spreading the news.
Cincinnati Bell and The E.W. Scripps Company announced Monday the arrival of Newsy to the Fioptics cable television service. A wholly owned subsidiary of Scripps, Newsy produces award-winning coverage of world and national news, policy, culture, science, and technology.
The partnership with Cincinnati Bell is the first of its kind for Newsy, which was previously only available through over-the-top distribution in on-demand format on devices like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire, and mobile apps for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire. Newsy is also available in linear format on Pluto TV and Sling TV.
“Cable is still the most powerful television viewing platform in the world,” said Blake Sabatinelli, Newsy general manager. “Partnering with Cincinnati Bell allows us to deliver our award-winning news coverage to an audience hungry for a new perspective of the world around them.”
Newsy’s linear broadcast feed, Newsy Live, will remind viewers of “old-school Headline News,” Sabatinelli said, as it presents news stories on an hour-long loop. The stories are an average of 90 to 120 seconds long, and content is added throughout the day.
Newsy is different from the major cable news networks like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC because Newsy’s agenda-free presentation doesn’t include talking heads like anchors or pundits, Sabatinelli said.
“We’re really just focused on delivering the news, telling each story as it needs to be told and letting people come to their own decisions,” Sabatinelli said. “I think that’s kind of the exact opposite of what you would find with traditional cable news.”
More than 1 million Internet-connected devices are equipped with the Newsy app, Sabatinelli said.
Cincinnati Bell Fioptics customers can find Newsy in high definition on channel 508, where it becomes the new neighbor of Scripps-owned WCPO (channel 509) in the Fioptics lineup. The channel will feature Newsy Live, a feed of the latest news headlines.
“As we continue to expand the Fioptics channel lineup, we’re committed to providing our subscribers with the best content available,” said Michael Morrison, director of content and consumer product marketing strategy for Cincinnati Bell. “Newsy provides a fresh take on news coverage that our customers will embrace.”
Newsy reaches a younger audience than other cable news networks, Morrison said. While he and others at Cincinnati Bell hope that the addition of Newsy will attract millennials to the Fioptics service, having an agreement with Newsy will benefit Cincinnati Bell “if and when we go over-the-top,” Morrison said.
“We take a look at how our industry’s evolving, and eventually I think we’ll have an over-the-top product,” he said.
Newsy’s accolades include a National Edward R. Murrow Award, two Appy Awards, a Davey Award, a W3 Award, and a Communicator Award. It has also been twice nominated for Webby Awards.
