Cox Media Group (CMG) has launched a local streaming news service called Neighborhood TV (NTV) that’s free and ad-supported.
NTV has been available in test mode on desktop and mobile in Atlanta and Charlotte and is already generating more than 100 million impressions monthly, CMG said. It is expected to be available in Orlando in Q4 2023.
The company positioned the launch as an extension of CMG’s linear TV business, addressing audiences who have adopted streaming in addition to traditional TV and cable. Neighborhood TV is accessible on the web at www.neighborhoodTV.com, and via the CTV app on all major streaming platforms including Samsung and Roku.
NTV, currently covering 70 neighborhoods in Georgia and 30 neighborhoods in North Carolina, is planning to target as many as 5,000 neighborhoods across the U.S.
As part of the effort, NTV has partnered with McClatchy and plans to expand in the Southeast, and in thousands of other neighborhoods across the U.S. , CMG said.
“We see audiences migrating online with a keen interest in local happenings and as the leading broadcaster in key markets, we want to build on the equity we already have by expanding in this way,” explained Steve Pruett, executive chairman of CMG.
The launch comes at a time when station groups like Hearst and Sinclair have launched local streaming services to expand their audiences and capitalize on the growth of streaming.
In announcing the launch CMG also released some early audience testing of Neighborhood TV that found residents are eager to know more about what’s going on in their immediate neighborhood through an authentic, realistic lens. Seventy-two percent say they have a positive first impression, driven by content, e.g. things you need to know in your community. Of the 72%, a majority appreciate it because:
- It’s all local information and news.
- All about community news and events.
- Covers things specifically related to my area.
- Offers good and trustworthy information.
- Informative things I need to know.
- Coverage from places I recognize (local).
The research also found that current awareness of NTV is strong at 18%
More widely, the company also cited research and data showing that Americans’ appetite for “really local” content has surged, perhaps driven by COVID and people working from home. Locals want to know what is going on in their neighborhoods, as evidenced with the growth of NextDoor, which had a reported 37 million users in Q2 of 2022.
Also, with local journalism struggling, many communities have little or no local coverage. A report by Medill’s local News initiative found that between the pre-pandemic months of late 2019 and the end of May 2022, more than 360 newspapers closed. Since 2005, the U.S. has lost more than one-fourth of its newspapers and is on track to lose a third by 2025. As a result, local advertisers are also struggling to find ways to reach their prospects.
