VUit
| Type of business | OTT streaming platform |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Headquarters | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Area served | United States |
| Owner | Syncbak, Inc. |
| Services | Local news, sports, TV shows |
| Website | https://www.vuit.com/ |
| Launched | September 1, 2020 |
VUit (pronounced: view-it)[1][2] is an online service that enables users to see newscasts and live broadcasts from television stations across the United States, as well as shows, sports, gaming and other entertainment.[3] The service is owned by Syncbak, Inc.,[4] and is available on the Internet, Android, iOS, Roku,[5] Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV.[4][1]
History
In early 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Syncbak launched a channel on their SBTV platform that featured exclusive coverage from local broadcasters pertaining to the virus.[2]
A month later, Syncbak launched the Survivors and Heroes channel, which featured stories about people who overcame large health challenges.[2]
VUit launched on September 1, 2020.[1][2] Original partners included Gray Television, Meredith Corporation (now owned by Gray), Cowles Company, Heritage Broadcasting Group, and Morgan Murphy Media. There were originally around 200 stations on the service at launch. The service was designed to compete with other OTT news platforms such as NewsON, Haystack News and STIRR.[2]
Stations owned by Cox Media Group were added sometime in September 2021 after Cox's previous OTT service, Locast, was shut down after copyright infringement lawsuits from the "Big Four" American broadcasters in the United States.[6][7]
In November 2021, several new companies signed deals with Syncbak and VUit. Such companies included Hearst Television, Citadel Communications, Morris Multimedia, and the News-Press and Gazette Company.[8] Later that month, Gray removed their stations from NewsON and Haystack to focus on VUit. However, they kept their stations on Amazon Fire TV's news service.[9]
In December 2022, VUit made a partnership with CBS Local. This deal added CBS O&O stations and 3 channels featuring programming produced by Paramount Global: Inside Edition, the Dabl TV network and Mixible (formerly known as ET Live).[10][11]
List of partners
Current partners on the service include:
- Gray Television (main investor in the service)[2]
- Morgan Murphy Media
- Imagicomm Communications[3]
- Lincoln Broadcasting Company
- Lilly Broadcasting[3]
- Maranatha Broadcasting Company[3]
- Heritage Broadcasting Group
- KTBS, LLC[3]
- McKinnon Broadcasting Company[3]
- Lockwood Broadcast Group[3]
- News-Press and Gazette Company[3][8]
- Morris Multimedia[3][8]
- Cox Media Group[7]
- Hearst Television[3][8]
- Marks Radio Group[3]
- Bahakel Communications[3]
- Block Communications[3]
- The Maag Family[3]
- Cowles Company
- Sunbeam Television[3]
- Weigel Broadcasting[3]
- Fort Myers Broadcasting Company[3]
- Capitol Broadcasting Company[3]
- Marquee Broadcasting[3]
- The Manship Family[3]
- CBS Local[3][10]
Programming
Over 260 stations are currently available on the service in 174 out of the 210 media markets in the United States.[3] Each station has its own channel on the platform where users can watch past newscasts and stories.[2]
The stations that are partnered with VUit also provide other programming besides local newscasts. Local programming includes community investigations and high school graduations. Weather events such as Hurricane Ida, December 2021 tornado outbreak, Winter storms, and the California wildfires have also streamed on the platform. High school sports, including football, basketball, baseball and softball and large sporting events like the Iditarod Sled Dog Race have also attracted viewers. Local stations on VUit stream live events 12 times per year exclusive to this service.[2][12]
Programming produced by Paramount Global such as Inside Edition, the Dabl TV network and Mixible (formerly known as ET Live) are also available on VUit.[10][11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Watch Live, Local TV for Free with the New Streaming Service VUit – Cord Cutters News". September 3, 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Sengwe, Stephanie. "Syncbak Launches VUit, A New OTT Platform With Free Access to Content From 200 Local TV Stations". The Streamable. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 "VUit.com". www.vuit.com. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "VUit | Syncbak". September 10, 2019. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ↑ Roku. "Roku". Roku. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ↑ Munson, Ben (November 2, 2021). "Broadcaster-backed VUit bulks up on local news channels". Fierce Video. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chorpenning, Aubrey. "VUit Bulks Up Local Content in New Agreement with Cox Media Group". The Streamable. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Forristal, Lauren. "VUit Adds 71 Local News Stations to Free Platform, Now Covers 82% of U.S." The Streamable. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ↑ Forristal, Lauren. "Gray Television Removes Local Content From NewsON". The Streamable. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Rizzo, Lillian. "CBS-owned stations added to free, rapidly growing local news streaming service VUit". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Satin, David. "Live News Streamer VUit Strikes Deal With CBS to Bring Station to Service in Over a Dozen Markets". The Streamable. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ↑ Forristal, Lauren. "Viewers Flock to Free Streamer VUit for Weather and High School Sports Content". The Streamable. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
External links
This article "VUit" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:VUit. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
