Pay television provider DirecTV has added a Pennsylvania news leader to its Internet-based services.
DirecTV via Internet and DirecTV Stream customers now have access to Allentown-based WFMZ (Channel 69), which serves the great Philadelphia area, including Lehigh Valley and Berks County with syndicated shows, local news and community-based programming.
“We are very pleased to provide WFMZ-TV to our DirecTV streaming subscribers and expect this station to have the same great level of engagement for our streaming subscribers as it has always proven with our satellite homes,” said Dallia Kim, the Vice President of Content and Programming at DirecTV. “This addition reflects our ongoing commitment to providing our customers with more choices and access to the local news and entertainment that matters most to them.”
“We have worked with DirecTV since 2002, when they originally launched local-into-local service via satellite. We are very pleased they continue to recognize the value of our station’s news coverage and decided to make us available to their growing number of DirecTV streaming customers,” said Barry Fisher, the President of WFMZ-TV. “This addition is especially important when Pennsylvania – a key swing state in the upcoming November 5 election – is at the forefront of national politics and the presidential candidates are frequently visiting our region.”
WFMZ is the highest-rated local news station for the northern end of the Philadelphia television market, DirecTV said in a statement. The channel is one of the few in the country to offer a dedicated Spanish-language news program on what is otherwise an English-language news station.
Other local programs include “69 News, Berks Edition,” focused exclusively on Berks County; “Business Matters” and “Talk with Your Doctor.” Syndicated shows on the station include “Inside Edition,” “Judge Judy,” “Dateline” and “Forensic Files.”
WFMZ is owned by Marantha Broadcasting Company.
—
Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported the station’s location as Altonna. It is Allentown.
