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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Roku lets you easily watch local news broadcasts for free.
- The feature tracks your location and shows your local affiliates.
- You can also watch national news broadcasts.
If you pay for a streaming service like YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV mostly for news, there's a Roku feature you'll want to pay attention to.
Roku has a fairly robust — and free — live TV lineup that many people aren't aware of. With hundreds of channels covering nearly any topic, it's a great choice if you're looking to save some money on streaming — and the lineup is growing constantly.
Also: Your Roku TV has 100+ free live channels – here's how to watch them (and what's available)
Among those channels is an easy way to watch your local news stations for free. The feature uses geolocation to aggregate local news feeds from your Fox, ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates (ones that are available online, at least), meaning your local stations are always at the top of the list. The feature isn't new, but a recent redesign makes your local channels a lot easier to find.
Most news stations have their own app these days, but an option like this makes it easier to switch between stations or to switch over to local news if you're watching something else.
How to watch your local news for free
To find free local news streams on your Roku, open The Roku App. This app comes preinstalled on most Roku devices, but you can install it on any smart TV. Choose “Live TV” from the menu on the left. On that screen, you'll see headings for categories like Featured and Trending Now. If you scroll down several categories, you'll eventually see “Local News Near You.”
Two of my local major news stations were shown, and I was able to easily pull up both streams.
Below that category, you'll see options for national and international news streams like CNN, CBS, and NBC News, and several channels dedicated to weather. If you want to check the news for another city, there's also a category for local news streams from across the country.
