Five ABC O&Os adopt interactive touchscreen technology for news presentation

WABC-TV in New York City, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WLS-TV in Chicago, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia and KTRK-TV in Houston, all ABC-owned stations, are adopting AccuWeather's StoryTeller interactive touchscreen system.

StoryTeller helps stations engage with viewers via an interactive suite of touch-screen software that puts all of the elements of breaking news, sports, traffic and weather at the presenter's fingertips.

"WABC and our other stations have pioneered the use of large screen interactive monitors to better illustrate stories for our viewers," said Dave Davis, president and general manager of WABC-TV.

StoryTeller allows on-air talent to present information in a highly visual and advanced way. It makes it easy to incorporate live HD and SD video, graphic images, movies, and Web and social media content into the presentation, especially for stories that are unfolding in real time.

StoryTeller includes specialized applications for news, sports, elections, traffic and weather presentations. The applications offer ready-for-air visuals, such as sports brackets, detailed 3-D cityscapes, tools for in-depth analysis and video control and interactive graphics and maps. Also available are ESRI map data to support news stories of all types.

The proprietary interface includes special features to move story elements within the display and to swipe from one full-screen scene to the next. StoryTeller has full telestration capabilities to explain the story in a clear and conversational style.