If, like me, you are finding more and more of your favorite programming on Disney+, The Walt Disney Company is giving you even less of a reason to change the channel with a huge new addition to its lineup. Disney+ is adding a big new feature for news fans starting now!
The Walt Disney Company announced yesterday that eight ABC-owned television stations across the U.S.A. are now available as 24/7 livestreams on Disney+ for subscribers in the United States. That means local news from WABC-TV in New York, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WLS-TV in Chicago, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, KTRK-TV in Houston, KGO-TV in San Francisco, WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and KFSN-TV in Fresno, California will all be streaming live on Disney+ around the clock. Each feed brings city-specific newscasts, breaking headlines, weather updates, and community coverage straight to the platform’s live hubs.
The streams sit alongside Disney+’s existing news lineup, which already includes top ABC News programming like World News Tonight with David Muir, ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis, Good Morning America, Nightline, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, and 20/20. Rather than just national news, subscribers will now have local perspectives from some of the country’s biggest markets available without switching services. The Walt Disney Company says that, over time, viewers in those eight cities will also see their station featured in more places throughout Disney+.
This move pushes Disney+ even more into daily viewing territory. Alongside blockbuster franchises and National Geographic documentaries, local news from city council stories and storm coverage to community celebrations is now part of the mix. For subscribers who want both entertainment and what’s happening in their hometown, Disney+ has just broadened what it brings to the table.
I’ll be interested to see how this will roll out over time. Will Disney be looking to add more local content across the USA and perhaps even throughout their international platform?
