Streaming television service Haystack News is bringing its interactive news ticker to its apps on all platforms.
The news was announced in a press release on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, the free, ad-supported streaming news service launched an interactive ticker on its Roku app that resembled similar scrolling information graphics on traditional cable news channels. Haystack’s ticker, called NewsLine, took things a step further by allowing users to interact with the news via their Roku remotes.
A company spokesperson said NewsLine proved popular with Roku users, which led Haystack News to make it available to those who use its service on other platforms, including iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV and on computers via a web browser.
In addition to providing interactive news headlines, the new version of NewsLine rolling out across apps will include localized weather conditions and information from leading domestic and international financial markets.
“With Newsline, watching news on your Smart TV is now superior to that of traditional cable television,” Ish Harshawat, Haystack News’ president and co-founder, said in a statement. “Haystack’s investment in Newsline is yielding increased levels of engagement for your users and increased monetization for our content partners.”
Those content partners include local news broadcast outlets owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group, ViacomCBS, Cox Media Group, Gray Television, Hearst Television, Hubbard Broadcasting, Meredith Corporation and the E.W. Scripps Company as well as national and international news content providers CBS News, Bloomberg, CNET, Cheddar, EuroNews and the Associated Press, among others.
The company formerly known as Haystack TV rebranded earlier this year to place more emphasis on its mission as a news aggregation service. It is supported through the sale of advertisements, with revenue split among itself and its content partners.
In May, a Haystack News executive said it had seen a 145 percent year-over-year increase in viewership. The company has declined to provide exactly how many users it has, but says it has found success by offering a middle-of-the-road approach to news deliver to viewers without the exaggerated political hype that is the hallmark of cable news networks.
In recent months, Haystack News has experimented with launching dedicated “channels” that contain videos and live feeds of newsworthy events. It is currently offering coverage of the presidential and vice-presidential debates throughout the month.
