SEATTLE—KCPQ (Fox 13) and KZJO (Fox 13+) here have announced that they will be expanding their news programming. Beginning June 16, the stations will provide more local news, adding new newscasts and greatly increasing their live local news offerings on streaming.

As part of the effort, Fox 13 is investing in digital platforms with 31 additional hours of live-streamed news content every week on its Fox Local Seattle streaming platform. Viewers can expect live anchored updates throughout the day, ensuring local news is available anytime, anywhere. KCPQ and KZJO are both owned by Fox Television Stations.

Additionally, beginning later this summer, “Good Day Seattle” will now run six full hours from 5 to 11 a.m., providing early risers and late starters with live local news, weather and features.

Together, Fox 13 and Fox 13+ are adding 2.5 hours of additional news content to their weekday broadcast schedule, bringing viewers more access to trusted information throughout the day, the stations said.

“By expanding our local programming and enhancing our streaming presence, we're making it easier for viewers to stay informed, wherever and whenever they choose to watch,” said Amber Eikel, senior vice president and general manager of KCPQ-KZJO. “This transformation reflects our commitment to delivering trusted, relevant news across all platforms.”

• 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., “Seattle News Tonight”: Local news with depth, context and the stories that matter to the community. Long-form interviews, extended live coverage on local stories, and in-studio guests.
• 6 p.m., “Washington News Wrap”: A nightly focused look at state headlines and regional developments.
• 6:30 p.m., “Washington Sports Wrap”: The day's top sports stories from across the state.
• 7 p.m., “West Coast News Wrap”: Coverage and commentary on major stories along the coast.
• 10 p.m., “Seattle News Tonight”

On Fox 13+ (KZJO) the news schedule will be:

• 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.: “Seattle News Tonight”

TACOMA, Wash.— Seattle public broadcaster KBTC Public Television has launched KBTC-VC, a new virtual ATSC 3.0 channel, broadcasting on virtual channel 28-11. The programming on KBTC-VC mirrors that of KBTC’s main channel 28-1, while providing enhanced accessibility for those with NextGen TV-enabled televisions.

Virtual ATSC 3.0 channels provide electronic programming guide information over-the-air to NextGen Smart TVs using the host broadcaster’s data channel capacity. NextGen TV viewers can select KBTC-VC in their programming guide and access the channel seamlessly over an internet-connected TV.

Viewers may need to rescan their TVs to access the new channel and begin watching KBTC-VC. To do this, viewers should look for a “Channel Scan” or “Auto-Tune” function in their settings menu.

Public broadcasters have launched other virtual channels in Reno, Nev., Nashville and Omaha, Neb. over the past 12 months, in partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group and America's Public Television Stations (APTS).

“We are excited to make NextGen TV available in our region,” said DeAnne Hamilton, Executive Director and General Manager of KBTC Public Television. “This launch deepens KBTC’s commitment to innovation and accessibility by reducing barriers to high-quality broadcast media and by supporting digital services that our viewers in western Washington rely on every day.”

“We congratulate KBTC Public Television on its new virtual ATSC 3.0 channel,” said Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations (APTS). “With this new virtual channel, the NEXTGEN Broadcast Service will be delivered to more public television viewers and enhance the local public television services that the Tacoma and western Washington community depend on every day.”

SEATTLE— As the WNBA prepares to kick off the 2025 season, the Seattle Storm WNBA team has announced a multi-year deal with Sinclair’s KOMO and KUNS stations to broadcast Storm games, KOMO is reporting.

As part of the agreement, KOMO and KUNS will be the exclusive broadcast television partners of the Seattle Storm beginning this season, bringing expanded coverage of the four-time WNBA champions to more fans across western Washington for free. This season, KOMO and KUNS will broadcast 33 games to fans.

“We are thrilled to welcome KOMO and the CW to the Storm family. From the start, it was clear we shared the same vision of making Storm basketball even more accessible for our fans and creating a larger impact amongst the broader community,” said Seattle Storm chief commercial officer Nate Silverman. “We wanted to provide fans the ability to watch our team in a way that best suits them, whether that be on cable, local TV or digital platforms. We’re excited to now offer more ways to watch the team this season as we compete for a fifth championship.”

KUNS (CW) will broadcast all non-nationally exclusive Storm games with distribution on cable, satellite and over-the-air television. KOMO will also air 13 of those games this season. Storm games broadcast on KOMO and KUNS will also be available on digital platforms including YouTube TV and Hulu Live, according to KOMO.

In addition to game broadcasts, KOMO will produce pre-game content for select games along with features during Seattle Refined, KOMO’s daily lifestyle program and ARC Seattle on KUNS. ARC Seattle provides viewers authentic, relevant and community content from around the Puget Sound region.

"Sinclair is committed to expanding access to high-quality local sports coverage, and the broadcast partnership with the Seattle Storm is a testament to that mission. Bringing Seattle Storm basketball to KOMO and KUNS ensures that more fans across the region can experience the excitement of the WNBA,” said chief operating officer and president of local media Rob Weisbord. “We are dedicated to elevating women’s sports, from our partnership with the WTA, to expanding visibility for the WNBA, we aim to provide more avenues for viewers to watch their favorite players and teams.”

The Storm tips off the 2025 regular season on Saturday, May 17 on the road against the Phoenix Mercury beginning at 7 p.m. PT.

The full schedule can be found here.

NEW YORK—Streaming tech provider ViewLift has announced the launch of the new Root Sports Stream app that deliveres Seattle Mariners games and Root Sports programming directly to fans across the Pacific Northwest, with or without a cable or satellite subscription.

Root Sports Stream is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) and TV Everywhere streaming solution available now at RootSportsStream.com and on iOS and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. The App (which is priced at $19.99 per month) will be coming soon to Roku, with further device releases planned.

ViewLift, which provided the technology and services for the launch. now powers streaming platforms for 11 top-tier US professional sports teams.

"Our mission is to help leading sports organizations meet their fans where they are—on the devices and platforms they use every day," said Rick Allen, CEO of ViewLift. "With the launch of Root Sports Stream, the Mariners are transforming the fan experience in one of the most innovative tech-forward regions of the country. We're proud to add them to the growing list of pro teams who trust ViewLift to power their direct-to-consumer streaming."

ViewLift said that its solutions and technologies are used for streaming platforms for the NHL, and professional teams across that League and the NBA and MLB, as well as the Professional Fighters League, LIV Golf, World Racing Group, and other sports leagues and teams around the world. The company's robust cloud-based platform ensures seamless, buffer-free streaming and supports flexible monetization models, real-time analytics, fan personalization, and rapid deployment.

Chris Wagner of OTT Advisors assisted Root and the Mariners regarding their digital distribution strategy.

The Root Sports Stream app offers:

• Live and on-demand Mariners baseball
• Full Root Sports programming lineup
• Cross-device access with a user-friendly interface
• Seamless authentication for existing Root Sports subscribers
• Fans can subscribe now at Mariners.com/stream.

SEATTLE—NextGen TV has arrived in Seattle, as seven local TV stations have begun broadcasting the ATSC 3.0-based digital transmission standard.

All of Seattle’s major broadcasters are transmitting a NextGen TV signal. This includes KOMO-TV (ABC), KIRO-TV (CBS), KCPQ (Fox), KING-TV (NBC), KONG (Ind.), KZJO (MyNet) and KUNS-TV (Univision). KONG, which is owned by Tegna, is serving as the “lighthouse station” for NextGen TV in the market, according to Kurt Rao, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Tegna.

The Seattle-Tacoma market is the largest market to date to have all of its stations broadcasting in NextGen TV, according to the press release.

The stations are working together to ensure that current programming remains available to all viewers, regardless of whether they rely on over-the-air or a cable or satellite company. Those using an antenna may have to rescan their TV sets to ensure full service; no action is required for cable and satellite subscribers.

The deployment of NextGen TV at these stations follows what was reported to be a year of planning, which consisted of a coordinated effort among the seven stations and a planning process from BitPath.

“As broadcasters, we must always consider ways to enhance our products for viewers to receive the best quality of our content,” said Richard Friedel, executive vice president, Corporate Engineering, at Fox Television Stations, which owns KCPQ and KZJO. “Working together with our fellow broadcasters to bring this new generation of innovative technology to viewers in the Seattle-Tacoma market delivers on that goal.”

“Our Emerald City has truly become the nation’s technological core. It’s only appropriate that we usher in the latest revolution in broadcast innovation to our tech-savvy audience,” added Mark Aitken, senior vice president of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of KOMO-TV and KUNS-TV. “We are thrilled to introduce the myriad benefits NextGen TV to Seattle, taking the television viewing experience to new heights.”

Cox Media Group is the owner of KIRO-TV.

More information on NextGen TV deployment is available here. 

SEATTLE & CINCINNATI—The broadcast industry in Seattle is expected to get an early Christmas present, as Tegna-owned KONG-TV is expected to begin NextGen TV broadcasts in early December. The station is working with GatesAir on the technological infrastructure, according to a joint announcement.

KONG-TV serves the Seattle-Tacoma market in Washington state. The plan is for KONG-TV and KING 5, the NBC affiliate in Seattle, to broadcast ATSC 3.0 using KONG-TV as the host. This is still pending final FCC approval.

GatesAir will assist in the process by supplying its Maxiva ULXTE-30 liquid-cooled transmitter to support over-the-air transmission of the NextGen TV signal. The transmitter will be equipped with a Maxiva XTE exciter. GatesAir is also expected to provide installation and commissioning support in the leadup to the launch.

“The transition to NextGen TV requires cooperation from all stakeholders as we begin shaping the future of local broadcast television in Seattle and across Tegna markets,” said Kurt Rao, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Tegna. “GatesAir has been a valued partner in this process, and we’re proud to work with their team to bring NextGen TV to our Seattle audience.”

GatesAir CEO Bruce D. Swali says that GatesAir transmitters help enable many of the new features that NextGen TV touts, including 4K UHD TV, immersive audio and advanced emergency alerting. He also says that this installation will serve as a foundation for a future ATSC 3.0 single frequency network (SFN) architecture, which would strengthen Tegna’s NextGen TV signal and extend its coverage throughout the Seattle-Tacoma region.

KONG-TV is expected to begin informing over-the-air viewers in the Seattle-Tacoma market in early November about the upcoming transition to NextGen TV. OTA viewers will be required to rescan their TVs to receive the NextGen TV signal. For cable, satellite or streaming viewers of KONG-TV, no action is required.

For more information on NextGen TV's rollout, follow TVT's updating coverage on ATSC 3.0 deployments.

IRVING, Texas—A series of transactions have been announced between Nexstar and Fox that will flip ownership of multiple stations in Charlotte, N.C., Seattle and Milwaukee.

As part of these newly announced deals, Nexstar has purchased the Charlotte Fox affiliate WJZY and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYT for $45 million. In turn, Nexstar is selling Seattle’s Fox and MyNetworkTV affiliates (KCPQ and KZJO, respectively) and Milwaukee’s Fox affiliate WITI for $350 million, subject to customary adjustments.

This follows a reported net loss for Nexstar in the third quarter due to associated costs from its acquisition of Tribune Media and other charges.

Nexstar CEO and President Perry Sook said that the addition of the Charlotte stations adds to the broadcaster’s Mid-Atlantic presence and helps free up 0.7% of its household reach, which will allow Nexstar to pursue other transactions to “strengthen our local market platform and service to viewers and businesses.”

The deal is still subject to FCC approval, but is expected to close in the first half of 2020.

SEATTLE—Locast is now servicing another market, announcing that it has launched in Seattle, covering the Seattle-Tacoma DMA. This is the 16th market to add Locast services.

“November tends to be the rainiest month of the year in Seattle, so local weather reports mean more to commuters, families and business travelers right now,” said David Goodfriend, founder of Locast. “Here’s a forecast for our friends in Seattle: expect more rain, but better access to your local news, weather and other critical information with Locast.”

Locast is a nonprofit service launched by the Sports Fan Coalition that rebroadcasts local stations for free in an effort to ensure that viewers do not lose access to the critical information and programming offered by their local channels during potential blackouts that stem from retransmission disputes. It is able to do this due to copyright statute that exempts nonprofits from needing a license from broadcasters.

However, Locast’s claim as a nonprofit is up for debate as the four major broadcasters have filed a lawsuit saying that Locast is not eligible for that copyright exemption, making the argument that Locast is commercially-driven.

Despite the lawsuit, Locast is continuing its expansion. This announcement follows one just a few weeks ago that the service launched in Atlanta and Phoenix, and Goodfriend says they hope to provide Locast to the top 20 markets by the end of the year, while aiming to eventually roll it out to all 210 markets.