Watchup becomes the first streaming news app available on the Wii U console

Zaim Sultan · September 2, 2015

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Watchup launches on Wii U from Nintendo, establishes one of the best second screen experiences for streaming news

MENLO PARK, CALIF., Sept. 2, 2015 — Watchup, the startup streaming news service that is changing the way we consume TV news, is now available in the Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo Wii U console from Nintendo.

Joining the exclusive club of video apps available on the Wii U console, such as Hulu and Netflix, Watchup is the first news app to launch on Nintendo’s current home console. Now Wii U owners can use Watchup to automatically get their daily dose of customized news, tailored to their interests from partners such as Bloomberg News, PBS Newshour, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fusion, Sky News, Vox, and others. Together, Watchup on Wii U represents a dynamic new way to consume streaming video news in the modern digital age.

“At Watchup, our mission has always been to make the modern consumption of TV news as dynamic and personalized as possible, and this is another major step in that direction,” said Watchup founder and CEO Adriano Farano. “If content is king, context is the queen. Taking advantage of the unique dual screen aspect of Wii U, Watchup has created a truly rewarding experience for consuming news that delivers on the full promise of the second screen.“

Utilizing the unique Wii U GamePad controller, which features an integrated touchscreen, Watchup users on Nintendo Wii U are able to select and read articles related to the video they are watching on TV in real time. This added layer of customized viewing represents the very first built-in, frictionless second-screen experience for news.

Watchup users on Nintendo Wii U can also utilize the touchscreen controller to fine-tune their Watchup experience as they watch. With the swipe of a finger, users can access an easy-to-navigate menu where they can browse content from different channels and follow or unfollow them in real time.

In addition, Watchup users on Nintendo Wii U can seamlessly toggle their streaming video between the TV screen and the GamePad screen, deciding in an instant which screen they want to display their news.

With the addition of the Nintendo Wii U gaming system, Watchup users can increasingly view their customized streaming news content whenever and wherever they want using a variety of platforms. Watchup is also available on iOS and Android operating systems, Amazon’s FireTV and Kindle Fire, and Xbox360.

In the past two months, Watchup has announced a raft of partnerships with local broadcast companies that have brought the number of local broadcasters available on Watchup to more than 100 across more than 70 top markets.

Thanks to this string of recent partnership deals, more than 75 percent of U.S. homes can now watch their local news any time, any place on Watchup across a variety of devices.

Watchup has also continued to secure partnerships with major national and international content providers as part of its mission to expand TV news consumption in the digital age.

Since January, Watchup has partnered with Bloomberg News, Fusion, Financial Times, The Verge, Vox, and AJ+ in a series of deals that has solidified its position as the go-to source for streaming video news. These outlets joined existing partnerships with The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, PBS Newshour, Sky News, Euronews, and many others making their video content available to anyone with an Internet or mobile connection on whatever device they choose through the app.

Viewers can stream their news continuously or set up a daily, customized newscast that is delivered to their device at whatever time of day they desire.

Incubated in 2012 at Stanford University’s prestigious StartX accelerator, Watchup has raised $4.25 million in seed funding from investors including Microsoft Ventures, Tribune Media, The McClatchy Company, Knight Foundation, and others.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U^™ and Wii^™home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS^™ and Nintendo DS^™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System^™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.3 billion video games and more than 680 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy^™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi^™ and Nintendo DSi XL^™, Super NES^™, Nintendo 64^™, Nintendo GameCube^™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario^™, Donkey Kong^™, Metroid^™, Zelda^™and Pokémon^™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.