Byron Allen launches free streaming service ‘Local Now,’ delivering local news

Allen calls Local Now "the most localized news and entertainment free-streaming service on the planet."

Apr 20, 2021

Media mogul Byron Allen is launching a new streaming service that will deliver local news to its users.

As more and more TV watchers “cut the cord” from cable companies and rely on streaming services for their entertainment content, one thing that many of those services don’t provide is access to local news.

Media mogul Byron Allen, owner of theGrio, is launching Local Now, a new streaming service that will deliver area news to its users. (Photo by Getty Images)

“Local Now is the most localized news and entertainment free-streaming service on the planet,” said Allen, the founder, chairman and CEO of Local Now parent company Allen Media Group, which owns theGrio.

“After more than three years in development and a significant investment in the platform, Local Now is extremely unique as it uses proprietary software and artificial intelligence to produce, aggregate, curate and stream — in real-time — local news, weather, sports, traffic, movies, TV shows, documentaries and channels geo-fenced to the user’s zip code,” Allen said. “No other streaming service has this capability and advanced technology. We are well-positioned as the new global standard for free streaming.”

Local Now features a user-friendly interface and a homepage curated by a dedicated programming team that brings a one-of-a-kind “heartbeat” to the platform. In addition to its news focus, the service also features a free library of over 7,500 titles that help power its 300-plus channels, accessible on-demand in the Movie and TV Shows sections. and content partnerships with the likes of America’s Funniest Videos, Black News Channel, Bloomberg, Cheddar, Comedy Dynamics, Court TV, GameToon, Johnny Carson, Kevin Hart’s LOL, Lacrosse Sports Network, Loupe Art, Newsy, People TV, Shout! Factory TV, Wired 2 Fish, World Poker Tour and Yahoo! Finance.

Local Now is available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Xfinity, Vizio, Samsung, Hisense, Android and IOS handheld devices. The standalone Local Now channel is also available on Dish, FuboTV, Sling, Xumo and YouTube TV.

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