Ten years ago, the then-owner of KRON-4 in San Francisco, Young Broadcasting, declared bankruptcy nine years after buying what had been the market’s NBC affiliate. The loss of network programming and shift to a news-focused independent station proved unsuccessful for Young.
Today, it continues a ratings comeback that started in 2017, thanks to new initiatives fueled by its current owner, Nexstar Media Group.
Now, Nexstar is taking on Entercom‘s KCBS-AM, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Bay Area’s other TV news sources with the launch of “a revolutionary local news and streaming video subscription service.”
Yes, Nexstar wants people to pay for the news, just as newspaper subscribers do.
KRON-4, today a MyNetwork TV heavy on news, has officially unveiled “KRON-ON,” a preimum service designed for mobile, desktop, tablet and OTT platforms, including Apple TV and Amazon Fire.
The KRON-ON app is being billed as the Bay Area’s “only commercial-free 24/7 local digital news platform” — and is built on a pay-for-access platform.
The KRON-ON streaming video subscription service is available now for a 7-day free trial and is priced at $2.99/month or $29.99 for an annual subscription.
The launch of a news app for KRON-4 — at a price — is risky. But, the company founded some 25 years ago by Perry Sook is confident it can be a winner in a crowded marketplace full of choices — including the Chronicle, which until 2000 owned KRON-4.
“Nexstar’s comprehensive cross-platform content development strategy leverages innovative technologies to create new products and services that meet the unique needs of the local communities we serve in San Francisco and across the United States,” said Nexstar Broadcasting President Tim Busch. “For Nexstar and KRON, it’s all about localism. The KRON-ON digital news and streaming video platform reflects our commitment to serving the needs of Bay Area viewers, hometown businesses and community organizations by delivering more hours of trusted, accurate and timely local news programming in underserved dayparts, commercial free. By efficiently utilizing KRON-4’s live news coverage and award-winning content portfolio, KRON-ON is bringing local viewers more premium local programming and content than any other station in the market, twenty-four hours a day.”
Yet, in other markets, such services are available as a basic cable channel. In New York, NY1 has served subscribers since Spectrum’s days as Time Warner Cable. In Washington, D.C., NewsChannel 8 had a major presence in the National Capital region throughout the early 1990s.
What makes this unique is that Nexstar is not launching a cable channel while taking advantage of the ever-growing Over-The-Top market in a way that eschews commercials — something that could win viewers from a crowd that consumes big PBS member station KQED and its NPR-aligned radio properties.
KRON VP/GM Chris McDonnell said, “With the KRON-ON app, the KRON4 newsroom is delivering relevant breaking news, live events and press conferences, as well as up-to-the-minute weather and traffic coverage twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Viewers not only get uninterrupted live local news, exclusive interviews and special reports on any digital device, they also have access to our vast library of archive news material captured over our 70-year tradition of Bay Area television news coverage.”
The KRON-ON streaming video platform features 11 hours of KRON regularly scheduled live, local news programming and content, including six hours of live morning news coverage and five hours of live evening news, commercial free via KRON-ON.
During standard broadcast commercial breaks, the service delivers live bonus coverage.
But, what would advertising sponsors have to say about a service that one can pay for and not have to see their commercials?
In addition to the commercial free newscasts,original live local programming exclusive to the KRON-ON app can be viewed. This includes Bay Area Sports Night, a one-hour sports talk program streaming weeknights at 7pm hosted by KRON Sports Director Mark Carpenter.
