Report updated May 17, 2026
SC Times
For local community members seeking regional news, sports coverage, and access to broader national journalism.
SC Times is a struggling news app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.0/5 rating from 556 reviews, it struggles with user retention. Users particularly appreciate local news coverage provides a reliable source for staying informed while on the go, though persistent login failures and authentication loops prevent access to paid subscriber content remains a common concern.
What is SC Times?
SC Times is a local news app providing regional journalism, sports coverage, and eNewspaper replicas on iOS and Android.
Users hire the app to stay informed on regional events, but technical friction prevents them from accessing the content they pay for.
Current Momentum
v8.9
- Ships generic stability improvements.
- Last major update April 2026.
Active Nemesis
NewsBreak: Local News & Alerts
By Particle Media
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
NewsNo 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?
Digital replica of the print edition with access to USA TODAY and 200+ local publications
Push alerts for breaking news, sports scores, and weather tailored to user interests
Download stories for access without an active internet connection
How much does it cost?
- Free tier with limited article access and ad support
- Subscription-based premium tier for full access
Freemium model uses a sampling gate to convert casual readers into monthly or annual subscribers.
Who Built It?
Gannett
Providing hyper-local news and sports coverage to US communities through digital-first newspaper replicas and real-time reporting.
Portfolio
13
Apps
What other apps does Gannett make?
Explore the full Gannett report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Gannett.
What do users think recently?
High confidence · Latest 60 of 64 total reviews analyzed · Based on 64 reviews. Signal may be noisy.
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a upset sentiment. Users appreciate local news coverage provides a reliable source for staying informed while on the go, but report persistent login failures and authentication loops prevent access to paid subscriber content.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
What Users Want
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 SC Times?
How's The News Market?
Market outlook for this category
Available very soon
Which niche is SC Times in?
to stay informed on local community news
Explore the full Local News Readers niche
Every app in this space — 187 tracked, the niche's live rankings, and Marlvel's editorial take on the job-to-be-done.
The rivals identified
Nemeses(1)
This app competes directly for the same regional news-consuming audience by offering a similar blend of local reporting and digital e-edition access.
Contenders(4)
Competes for the same local news audience by providing streamlined access to community-specific journalism.
A regional competitor that captures local attention through dedicated community reporting and mobile news access.
Directly challenges the target's regional news footprint with a focus on 24/7 digital integration and regional reporting.
Competes for local news market share by focusing on community-specific reporting and mobile-first news delivery.
Same space(3)
A high-scale news platform that competes for regional dominance through extensive archives and subscription-based content.
A strong local news peer that leverages high user engagement and interactive features to dominate the local market.
Competes for local news and weather engagement by utilizing broadcast-style alerts and live streaming capabilities.
Compare SC Times against every rival
All rivals in one side-by-side table — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel — plus a head-to-head page for each.
The outtake for SC Times
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- eNewspaper digital replica provides a high-value retention hook for legacy readers
- Local editorial trust differentiates from unverified aggregator content
Critical Frictions
- 3.53 rating on Android vs 4.09 on iOS
- Persistent login failures block paid content
- Ad-density complaints from paying subscribers
Growth Levers
- Ad-free tier for subscribers
- Integration of live local video streams
Market Threats
- NewsBreak's hyper-local aggregation scale
- Watch Duty's niche-specific utility during local crises
- Stagnant content updates vs real-time competitors
What are the next best moves?
Rebuild authentication flow because login failures are the #1 complaint theme → recover subscriber access
Login failures are the top-cited complaint in sentiment analysis.
Trade-off: Pause the UI redesign for the eNewspaper reader — authentication stability is a higher churn risk.
Audit ad-loading behavior because pop-ups block article text → improve paid-subscriber retention
Subscribers report ads blocking content they pay to access.
Trade-off: Deprioritize new ad-format testing — current ad density is actively damaging the user base.
A counter-intuitive read
The app's reliance on a print-replica eNewspaper is not a legacy burden but a unique retention moat that prevents casual readers from migrating to pure-play news aggregators.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Live broadcast video integration (available in WFAA but missing here)
- Emergency alert integration (available in WSB-TV but missing here)
Key Takeaways
The app retains users through high-trust local content, but technical friction and ad-density are driving churn among paid subscribers, so the PM must prioritize authentication stability and ad-loading hygiene to protect the subscription base.
Where Is It Heading?
Declining
The local news market is consolidating around high-velocity aggregators, leaving traditional publishers exposed if they cannot match the technical reliability of their digital-first rivals. The app's current maintenance-mode cadence fails to address the authentication and ad-density complaints, signaling further subscriber erosion in the coming quarters.
Persistent login failures in the latest version prevent paid content access, leading to high churn intent among long-term subscribers.
Aggressive ad-loading blocks article text, which directly contradicts the value proposition of a paid subscription service.