Substack, a newsletter platform that has curried favor with independent publishers for its low barrier to entry and revenue-generating opportunities, has launched a dedicated streaming app for two smart television platforms.
The purpose of the app, called Substack TV, is to allow independent publishers with video podcasts a pipeline onto the biggest screen in most homes — one where people are already consuming similar shows uploaded to video sharing platforms like YouTube.
Substack says creators who are already distributing video podcasts through their newsletters and smartphone apps will automatically have that same media available on smart TVs through the Substack TV app, which is now available on Apple TV and Android TV (Google TV). Live streams are also supported through the Substack TV app, the company said.
“This initial version of the TV app is focused on reliable, high-quality viewing, and we’ll be adding more features over time,” Zach Taylor, a product manager at Substack, wrote in an announcement on Thursday. “We’re starting with the essentials, and will keep improving it based on how people actually use it.”
Founded in 2017, Substack took off during the two-year coronavirus pandemic — a time when larger publishers were laying off journalists and content creators, and independent writers were looking for ways to capitalize on their followings.
The company started with a basic newsletter-by-email product that has evolved into a multimedia platform supporting audio and video podcasts, live streams and social- and community-based features.
Substack has attracted a number of well-known journalists like Terry Moran, Matthew Yglesias and Dan Rather — writers who built their reputation and their audience at larger, established news organizations, then capitalized on their following by spinning up independent newsletters and podcasts that charge for access.
Some publications, like The Ankler and The Free Press, use Substack for the entire foundation of their business. Others, like The Desk, have used Substack to promote broader offerings: Last year, The Desk launched a limited-run publication called Multicast News, which covered the convergence of traditional and new media with a specific focus on broadcast TV.
