DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP'S OWNED TELEVISION STATIONS UNVEIL NEW WEBSITES
Responsive Design Delivers Optimal Content Experience Across Desktops, Connected TVs,
Tablets and Smartphones
"Ads Everywhere" Model Delivers Highest-Quality, True-to-Size Ads and Enhanced Targeting
Enhanced Editorial Coverage Includes
New "Map My News" Feature and Expanded Customizable Weather Coverage
As part of Disney/ABC Television Group's strategy to deliver the best possible content experiences across multiple devices, the company is today launching responsive websites for its Owned TV Stations: WABC-TV, New York; KABC-TV, Los Angeles; WLS-TV, Chicago; WPVI-TV Philadelphia; KGO-TV, San Francisco; KTRK-TV, Houston; WTVD-TV, Raleigh-Durham; and KFSN-TV, Fresno. The websites will also include a new "Map My News" feature and more editorial focus on weather.
Responsive website highlights include:
· Content scales seamlessly across desktops, connected TVs, smartphones and tablets
· Intuitive user interface makes it easier to find, read, watch and share news stories
· High-quality HD video with no buffering that plays beautifully across an ever-changing landscape of mobile devices
· Numerous advantages for advertising partners. "Ads Everywhere" model ensures ad units are consistently the highest possible quality across all devices; improved categorization of content that is more interesting to our viewers and more valuable for our advertisers, making it easier to align brand messages with relevant content; more high-impact ad units, including the addition of IAB Rising Stars, takeover opportunities, larger interstitials, sponsorship opportunities and native advertising
There have also been editorial enhancements to the websites, including the following:
· Innovative "Map My News" feature where viewers can access a map and click on pins to discover breaking news stories, as well as tweets from reporters and photographers, gathering news in our viewers' neighborhoods and communities.
· Expanded weather coverage, which is the most popular topic across all sites. A customizable local weather forecast is prominently displayed at the top of every page on the websites, and weather maps and Doppler radars are featured prominently on home pages. The Weather home pages now feature more photos and videos than ever before and include street-level weather tracking.
· More prominent gateways into WATCH ABC where verified viewers can watch live feeds of their local news programs and favorite ABC shows on desktops, connected TVs, tablets and smartphones.
"Our mobile audience has more than tripled in the last year," said Carla Carpenter, Senior Vice President, Digital Media, ABC Owned Television Stations. "It's critical that we employ the latest technologies in order to grow with them. This re-launch underscores our commitment to delivering the news that is most relevant to our viewers on the devices that are most convenient for them."
"From the utilization of even more precise targeting techniques, to the addition of new high-impact ad units and the ability to scale beautifully across multiple devices, 'Ads Everywhere' puts us in a position to offer our advertising partners even deeper engagement with our viewers," said Debra O'Connell, President, ABC National Television Sales.
"With an overwhelming percentage of car buyers going online to search and explore auto prices and inventory, often from their mobile phones right on the showroom floor, seeing our ads in the most performance-driven environment has never mattered more, " said Paul Muller, President of the Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association. "Our local ABC station, WPVI, continues to be an innovative media partner, delivering the kinds of experiences that enable us to reach our customers anywhere and everywhere."
"As consumers access more and more content on mobile devices, we have to adapt our digital advertising strategies to find the most compelling ways to engage them," said Kevin Honey, Executive Vice President, Group Account Director at Saatchi & Saatchi. "ABC OTV's Ads Everywhere program provides us with the ability to deliver the richest brand experience, truly owning the moment in the most impactful way possible."
Disney/ABC Television Group began introducing responsive design elements to its portfolio of network web sites - DisneyJunior.com, DisneyChannel.com, DisneyXD.com and ABCFamily.com - in Fall 2013. All sites will be fully responsive when the final elements of ABC.com, which began rolling out its redesign in January 2014, go live during the Fall 2014 TV season.
Over the past several years, the company has also consistently unveiled innovative, award-winning multiplatform services and apps. "WATCH ABC," WATCH ABC Family, "WATCH Disney Channel," "WATCH Disney Junior" and "WATCH Disney XD" apps make full-length episodes of popular shows available online and on desktops, tablets and smartphones. Verified pay TV customers can access live feeds of the networks, as well as access to first looks and sneak peeks. In addition to the WATCH services, other notable DATG apps include the Disney Junior Appisode app, which offers true interactive viewing, allowing kids ages 2-7 to touch, tap, swipe, tilt, shake and talk their way through various fun-filled activities embedded into episodes of some of their favorite Disney Junior shows; the Disney Channel Photo Finish App that enables fans to customize their personal photos with popular Disney Channel show themes and characters.
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