Tribune Digital Ventures, the technology arm of publishing and broadcasting company Tribune, has launched an audio-streaming news app called Newsbeat. The app will stream up to 7,000 news stories to users, sourced from over 600 news outlets, on a daily basis.
Commuters Main Target Audience
As an audio-streaming app that reads news reports to users, Newsbeat’s target audience is commuters stuck in traffic or on public transit on their way to or from work, reports The Los Angeles Times. Tribune Digital Venture’s president, former Yahoo executive Shashi Seth, said that the app is intended to act as a radio-like experience. Users will be able to set the distance of their commute, and the app will deliver the most relevant stories in the estimated time before they arrive at their destination. If a story doesn’t interest a listener, they can skip it; over time, the app will learn users’ news preferences, says Seth. Other ways that users can tailor their news consumption include inputting favorite sports teams, news channels, television shows, and even celebrities, and the app will offer relevant news stories in light of these preferences.
According to The Verge, the news app offers up a mix of text-to-voice and human-voice audio. Stories can be read or listened to in their entirety, or RSS feed snippets of main stories are available to get the gist of a news item without listening to a whole lengthy article. Weather and traffic reports are also offered, targeted to the user’s location.
Competition for Commuters
Audio news apps aren’t exactly a new concept, as apps like SoundGecko, Umano, and Swell already offer up their versions of audio news content. Brian Blau, research director in consumer technologies at Gartner Inc., told The LA Times, “It’s a bit late compared to a lot of other apps vendors who have embraced mobile devices as a content delivery platform.” But Blau points out that isn’t necessarily bad news, depending on whether or not the Tribune can capture the attention of users in an already-crowded market.
The fact that the news app lacks a share option for consumers to post stories they like to social media sites could be a problem in this regard, Blau points out. As TUAW reports, the app has a “secret” feature that may give it leverage: when paired with a car’s Bluetooth system, news stories on the app can be changed from the car’s “skip track” buttons, and news headlines will show on some cars’ LCD screens. “This feature may not work with all Bluetooth systems, but my car is three years old and it worked flawlessly,” says TUAW reviewer Mel Martin.
Which mobile apps do you use to stay up-to-date on the day’s news?
Image courtesy of Flickr
[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[/cf]