Allen Media Group enters into FAST Channel pact with Amazon Fire TV

Allen Media Group has entered into a FAST channel distribution pact with Amazon that will make the TV stations and Weather Channel en Español available for free through Amazon’s Fire TV and Echo Show devices.

The deal covers 21 Allen Media Broadcasting-owned television stations, including Honolulu (KITV), Flint, Michigan (WJRT), Fort Wayne, Indiana (WFFT), Tucson, Arizona (KVOA) and more. Also includes Allen Media Group’s Local Now streaming service, which includes local news channels from more than 200 markets across the U.S.

“Now FAST local channels use proprietary technology that delivers daily content from newsrooms across the country and collects 500,000 video stories per day. The channels are curated by the Local Now newsroom – run by in-house journalists and technologists. Local Now partners with hundreds of news and entertainment programs,” Allen Media Group said.

CEO Byron Allen noted that the growth of FAST channels has made them an important distribution platform for the company.

“We are thrilled to bring Amazon Fire TV subscribers free premium news, entertainment, sports, weather and more from Allen Media Group,” said Allen, founder, president and CEO of Allen Media Group. “Free access to Local Now, The Weather Channel en Español and our Allen Media Broadcasting television stations is an important necessity and demonstrates the core mission of Allen Media Group’s news and entertainment brands.”

In recent years, as the overall streaming market has expanded and the linear sphere has shrunk, free, ad-supported linear streaming channels have grown in popularity. Amazon Fire TV has played a key role in popularizing the concept of free 24/7 services built around genres and themes.