Report updated Apr 16, 2026
ABC13 Houston
For houston-area residents and individuals interested in local news, weather, and community-focused investigative reporting.
ABC13 Houston is an established news & magazines app that is completely free. With a 4.6/5 rating from 67.1K reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate content quality, though playback and stability issues remains a common concern.
What is ABC13 Houston?
Current Momentum
v8.85
This release includes various bug fixes and improvements to continue providing a best-in-class news experience.
Active Nemesis
KPRC 2 Houston News
By Graham Media
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
News & MagazinesNo ranking data
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User Mood
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
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What Are The Key Features?
Continuous live broadcast of news and original programming directly within the app
Customizable news feed based on user-selected topics and locations
Access to specialized investigative journalism and true crime series
Real-time push notifications for weather conditions and traffic incidents
Allows users to watch live streams or video clips while using other apps
How much does it cost?
- Free to download and use
The app is entirely ad-supported, serving as a brand extension for Disney/ABC to drive audience engagement and loyalty rather than direct subscription revenue.
Who Built It?
Disney
Extending global entertainment franchises into daily digital habits through streaming, live sports, and interactive park utilities.
Portfolio
13
Apps
What other apps does Disney make?
Explore the full Disney report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Disney.
What do users think recently?
High confidence · Latest 100 of 67.1K total reviews analyzed
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate content quality and convenience, but report playback and stability issues and chromecast and screen functionality.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for ABC13 Houston?
How's The News & Magazines Market?
How does it evolve in the News & Magazines market?
Rank progression
8 active rankings tracked — 30-day window
The rivals identified
The outtake for ABC13 Houston
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Strong brand backing from Disney/ABC
- Unique investigative and true crime content
- Robust 24/7 live streaming capabilities
- Large established user base in the Houston market
Critical Frictions
- Significant technical instability and frequent crashes
- Poor video playback management (screen timeouts)
- Broken Chromecast and external display functionality
- Declining user sentiment following recent updates
Growth Levers
- Capture market share from KPRC 2 by offering a more stable technical experience
- Develop concise news formats to compete with Axios Houston
- Enhance hyper-local notification granularity
Market Threats
- Local news aggregators (NewsBreak, SmartNews) siphoning traffic
- Real-time safety apps (Citizen) providing faster incident alerts
- Platform-level news integration on iOS and Android
Key Takeaways
ABC13 Houston is an established news & magazines app that is completely free. With a 4.6/5 rating from 67.1K reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate content quality, though playback and stability issues remains a common concern.
Where Is It Heading?
Mixed Signals
The report reflects a strategic pivot toward formalizing the competitive landscape and emphasizing investigative content, though the product remains in a 'mixed' state due to persistent, unresolved technical stability issues.