CNN Launches $2 iPhone App
Today CNN announced an iPhone app that has already gained widespread praise in the few hours since its release [1] [2]. According to Reuters, some features of the new app include:
- Users can flick through news stories across categories. Additionally, when the device is rotated horizontally, stories can be flipped through quickly.
- Each story features bulleted highlights above the full article, designed to satisfy mobile “snackers,” allowing them to scan through the latest stories, as well as meet the needs of users who want the whole story.
- Local news, weather and traffic based on user’s actual location or the ability to select a specific location.
- Ability to “follow” a story or topic: As CNN publishes breaking news alerts or new stories related to a chosen topic, the app will push the updates to the device.
- “Saved” content, which enables users to access text stories even when they’re offline.
I find it interesting that CNN Interactive Group chose to launch this as a paid app, as free apps are between four and six times more likely to be downloaded than their paid counterparts. The new app is actually ad-supported as well, displaying ads while video loads (though not utilizing the “pre-roll” ads often found in online news clips).
Although many apps generate more revenue for their developers as paid apps than through an ad-supported model (see this informative article on Jonathan Wegener’s blog), apps that are used repeatedly earn more with advertising in the long run. Playing around with the app this morning, I have to say that I think this is something users will be interested in using frequently indeed.
Still, don’t be too surprised if CNN offers their iPhone app for free within the next few months. The people that had to have the product will have paid up, while the 6x users who were unwilling to pay can still generate revenue for CNN through their mobile ads.
Posted by Mark Sieve