Haystack News Adds 16 Live News Channels for Election Coverage

Haystack News, a streaming platform focused on news content, is announcing a substantial expansion in preparation for the upcoming U.S. Election Day. The company revealed this morning the addition of 16 new 24/7 live-streaming news channels to its service, featuring networks like ABC News Live, CBSN, Al Jazeera, Euronews, Newsmax, Yahoo Finance, and numerous live local news stations throughout the United States.

This marks the first time Haystack News has incorporated live news channels into its platform, which previously provided only video-on-demand (VOD) news content.

This expansion builds upon a recent update to Haystack News that increased the total number of news sources available to over 350, through the inclusion of local stations owned by Fox. This development enabled Haystack News to provide coverage to 100% of the top 30 Designated Market Areas (DMAs).

With this latest update, Haystack News intends to establish itself as a comprehensive resource for live Election Night coverage, especially for individuals who have cut the cord and are seeking a service that combines national and local news options.

Haystack News has experienced considerable growth due to the increasing popularity of over-the-top streaming and the growing trend of cord-cutting.

Earlier this year, the company underwent a rebranding from Haystack TV to Haystack News to more accurately represent its focus on providing ad-supported video news. In June, Haystack News reported record user growth, with “millions” of new users joining the service year-to-date, representing a 145% increase in audience size compared to the previous year. The company also projected that app usage would more than double in 2020, surpassing millions of hours of monthly viewing.

As part of the rebranding process, Haystack News redesigned its app’s user interface and introduced Newsline, a customized and dynamic news ticker.

Haystack News reports that the company has seen a doubling of new users each year for the past five years, reaching approximately 3 million users in 2020.

The company also shared a new statistic, revealing that Haystack News has exceeded 2 billion minutes of news content consumed in 2020.

Haystack News operates as a free service, supported by advertising, but asserts that its advertising volume is lower than that of traditional television. This characteristic makes the service particularly attractive to cord-cutters who may have lost access to televised news with their cable subscription and are looking for a complimentary alternative.

While numerous options exist for accessing streaming news on smart TVs and streaming media devices, Haystack News’ current advantage lies in its diverse content offering—including both on-demand and live-streaming news, as well as national and local coverage.

The company believes its primary competitive advantage will continue to be its ability to personalize the news experience for individual users, a feature designed to set it apart from other streaming services.

Haystack News is accessible on a wide range of smart TVs, including models from Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sony, TCL, and Vizio, as well as on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, and Android and iOS mobile devices. It is also available online at haystack.tv.

To date, Haystack News has secured $6.5 million in funding, including its latest funding round which concluded in 2019. The service is supported by investors such as AltaIR Capital, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Stanford University’s StartX Fund, SVLinks, Uhuru Capital, and Zorlu Ventures.