You can now get all your local news and coffee in the same place. Starbucks today announced the launch of the Starbucks Digital Network, in partnership with Yahoo!  in U.S. stores. Serving up a collection of hand-picked premium news - including NorthAndoverPatch, entertainment and lifestyle content along with local insights and events, the Starbucks Digital Network, is powered by free Wi-Fi and available only in Starbucks stores.  

"Our customers are the inspiration for the Starbucks Digital Network.  They've told us they want to be the first to know what's happening in their neighborhoods and around the globe, to have an easy way to discover new music, great books and important films and find ways to be more involved in their communities. And they're connecting with the brand digitally in numerous ways," said Stephen Gillett, Starbucks executive vice president, chief information officer and Digital Ventures general manager.  "These points combined with our passion for creating a unique customer experience, our heritage of recommending culturally-relevant works and focus on giving back to the community, led us to create this new, one-of-a-kind, localized content experience with Yahoo!."

Designed to deliver a new, enhanced in-store experience for customers, the Starbucks Digital Network is the first in-store network of its kind. The digital network's hand-picked premium content spans six channels: News, Entertainment, Wellness, Business & Careers, My Neighborhood and Starbucks. Newly signed content providers include Bookish Reading Club, Foursquare, GOOD, LinkedIn, New Word City and The Weather Channel.

With a goal to deliver relevant, localized content, the My Neighborhood channel, brings Foursquare to a line-up that also features DonorsChoose.org, NorthAndoverPatch and Zagat.  

Once customers click on the My Neighborhood tab, they can check out local K-12 public school classrooms in need of support through DonorsChoose.org and make a donation to help bring a classroom project to life. NorthAndoverPatch delivers community-specific and trusted local coverage, serving as an interactive hub for the news and information that matters most to Patch readers on the network. Adding to the channel, Zagat will help customers eat well by providing full ratings and reviews for restaurants in the neighborhood around each Starbucks store.