Red House Streaming, a subsidiary of CP Communications, has officially launched RHStv Connecting Tampa Bay, described as “a homegrown, advertising-supported streaming network” with a growing lineup of original topic-driven programming.
Available on the official RHStv.com website, a free RHStv app for iOS and Android devices, and Connected TV platforms such Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Google Play, and Roku, the FAST (free ad supported television) streaming network empowers local voices through three linear channels and a large roster of shareable VOD programs.
RHStv Connecting Tampa Bay represents the next phase of CEO Kurt Heitmann’s vision to grow the Red House Streaming (RHS) business into a full-service video production and media delivery company. The Red House Streaming business also includes a professional studio and production center in St. Petersburg, Florida; and a live event business powered through production trucks, technicians, and a range of RHS and third-party hardware and software solutions.
The RHStv Connecting Tampa Bay launch now adds broadcast-quality programming for Connected TV platforms to Red House Streaming’s creative services and technology portfolio. What excites Heitmann the most is the opportunity for RHStv to serve a social purpose that empowers people to discover, share, create, engage, entertain, and come together through social media platforms, premium streaming services, and local content available live and on-demand.
“RHStv is a new approach to media and community engagement,” said Heitmann. “RHStv represents a socially responsible network that offers inspirational stories to viewers of all ages, create awareness on important topics, and provide a voice to local businesses, charitable organizations and our youth, among others. We aim to empower individuals and communities through the convergence of linear television, social media, and direct-to-consumer delivery of professionally produced content created in our studios or on location.”
NATIONAL ASPIRATIONS
Heitmann emphasizes that while RHStv’s original content today is largely about the Tampa Bay community, the content will appeal to all viewers that have interest in the region. That may be through family ties, fondness for local sports teams, or other connections to the community such as a local business, previous or upcoming vacations, or other general interests. The hyper-local Tampa Bay focus also establishes a blueprint to expand the RHStv model to other cities.
“RHStv Connecting Tampa Bay is a template for other cities where we intend to launch similar services in over the coming years,” said Heitmann, noting that the company’s remote production expertise will play a role in that expansion strategy. “We intend to open satellite studios and production facilities that pair with our REMI production services. The RHStv model itself is about the delivery of content, and bringing compelling content to local audiences using modern streaming platforms. We don’t own the content; our clients own the content, and we can provide the production services and technology infrastructure to support their visions as desired.”
RHStv Connecting Tampa Bay has already attracted local sponsors, including Golden Diamond Source and Tactical Rehab, for its program lineup. Some sponsors produce their ads at Red House Streaming studios. “The real draw has to do with the quality of our programming, and our audience reach, which has the potential to reach more than 1 million viewers,” said Heitmann. “We also take steps to maintain the privacy of our viewers, which is a concern to streaming audiences,” he added. “We do not and never will share or sell viewer data.”
RHStv Connecting Tampa Bay offers three linear channels (the flagship RHStv channel, Sarina Fazan Network/SFN and Youth News Network/YNN) that cover multiple topics. Programs are added to the VOD library following their first airings, and available for viewers to embed and share via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. For VOD content, viewers can search for specific topics from the main page menu bar or a search function, including business, entertainment, family and education, health, lifestyle, and sports.
Speaking of sports, a fourth linear channel now will bring additional sports talk to the network. The first of these programs, The JP Peterson Show, is currently broadcast live weekdays on the RHS.tv channel from 10am-12noon. Peterson is a local sports personality that served as lead sports anchor for WFLA-TV, the Tampa area’s NBC affiliate, for 10 years; Sarina Fazan of SFN is also a former local news anchor and journalist, having spent nearly decades at ABC Tampa Bay (WFTS-TV, owned by the E.W. Scripps Co.).
Another popular program to recently launch on RHStv’s linear channel is Caregiving Worldwide, a weekly series with host and entrepreneur Traci Lamb. Also available in the VOD library, Caregiving Worldwide welcomes CEOs from around the world to speak about products and services that help more than 300 million people worldwide take care of loved ones at home.
— Reporting by Brian Galante
