Capitol Broadcasting Company’s CBS New Media Group has completed a major redesign of the WRAL News app, which is now available in the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores.
In announcing major improvements to the Raleigh, N.C. station’s app, the company calls it “the most popular local news app in the Triangle area” and noted that it has been downloaded more than 250,000 times.
New features include easier access to live video streams, including all WRAL newscasts; improved push alerts that make it easier to access stories; location-aware weather; larger Doppler animations; continuously updated traffic videos from the Triangle area’s busiest highways; and the ability to customize the app’s start page.
“With the explosive growth in mobile usage, it is critical to provide an app that takes advantage of the user’s location and mobility,” said WRAL.com general manager John Conway in a statement. “The new app emphasizes weather, traffic, live sports scores for users on the go, while also offering them more customization options.”
The station also stressed that the app development had been done locally by the in-house CBC New Media Group’s tech team.
“Building and maintaining the code in house gives us a much higher level of flexibility in terms of meeting our end users' needs,” Jason Priebe, director of technology, noted in a statement.
Recently, the station also released the WRAL TechWire app for iOS and Android.
