/ 01.20.2010 12:00AM
CBS Mobile Bows iPhone App for Local Stations
MULTIPLE
CITIES: CBS
Mobile has rolled out a standalone iPhone news app for 13 local markets. The
free application for iPhones and iPod Touch delivers local news, slide shows,
on-demand video and Twitter updates from anchors.
“The CBS Television Stations applications are a
logical extension of our CBS News app; they give us the chance to engage users
at a grassroots level and expose them to the news that matters to them the
most,” said Rob Gelick, senior vice president and general manager of CBS
Mobile. The division partnered with Treemo Labs to create the application and
Transpera to power pre-roll video and ad capabilities.
KVOR-TV in Sacramento,
Calif., is using it to delivery news, sports, features, on-demand video,
geo-targeted weather updates, breaking news and tweets. Stations with access to
the app include WCBS-TV in New York; KCBS/KCAL-TV in Los Angeles; WBBM-TV in
Chicago; KYW-TV in Philadelphia; WBZ-TV in Boston; KPIX-TV in San Francisco;
KTVT-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth; WFOR-TV in Miami; KCNC-TV in Denver; WCCO-TV in
Minneapolis; KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh and WJZ-TV in Baltimore.
Broadcaster smartphone apps are a growing phenomenon. WBNS-TV, the CBS
affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, launched its own iPhone app in December. LIN TV
launched a mobile news service app for its 27 TV stations last August. The LIN
app targets BlackBerry devices; another is in development for iPhones. ABC News
launched its iPhone app for network O&Os last January.
December
10, 2009: “WBNS-TV Launches iPhone
App”
The Dispatch-owned station said iPhone subscribers can down load the free 10TV
app on iTunes and access 10TV News and the station’s Web site for real-time
traffic and weather updates.