Local Now

Local Now is the free streaming platform from Allen Media Group that delivers hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and entertainment to over 230 markets across the United States. Morph Dev was brought on to develop and maintain the app across a uniquely broad device ecosystem: Vizio, Samsung (Tizen), Comcast (Xfinity), Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, plus native Android mobile (Kotlin) and iOS (Swift) applications. This seven-platform scope represents one of the most technically diverse CTV and mobile builds in our portfolio.

Seven platform targets means seven distinct development workflows, certification pipelines, and user interaction models from D-pad remote navigation on a 65-inch living room TV to touch gestures on a 6-inch phone screen. Our architecture balances a shared data and business logic layer with platform-specific UI implementations that feel native on every device. On mobile, we built with Kotlin for Android and Swift for iOS to deliver fast, fluid experiences that take full advantage of each platform’s native capabilities, including push notifications for breaking news and severe weather alerts.

Local Now’s content model is driven by geolocation. The app automatically detects a viewer’s market and serves a curated feed of local news clips, weather forecasts, traffic updates, and lifestyle segments all powered by partnerships with Reuters, Associated Press, and local broadcast affiliates. On connected TV, we engineered the content carousel to update in real time, surfacing breaking stories and severe weather coverage from The Weather Channel without requiring a manual refresh. This continuous-update architecture keeps viewers informed with zero friction.

Beyond live local coverage, the platform includes over 400 free streaming channels and thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows, making it a full-fledged FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) destination. We implemented a seamless content discovery experience with category browsing, search, watchlist management, and a continue-watching feature all running on an ad-supported model that required tight integration with multiple ad-serving SDKs across every platform. The result is a polished, cross-platform streaming experience that rivals subscription services completely free to the viewer.