| Core Identity |
| Developer | Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc | Tegna Inc. | Cox Media Group | Disney | NBC News Digital, LLC | The Washington Post | CNN Interactive Group, Inc. | Sherwood Forestry Service, Inc. |
| Category | News | News | News | News | News | News | News | News |
| Platform | Android, iOS | Android, iOS | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | Android, iOS | Android, iOS | Android, iOS |
| Store Metrics |
| Rating | 4.8 / 5 | 4.8 / 5 | 4.7 / 5 | 4.8 / 5 | 4.7 / 5 | 4.7 / 5 | 4.8 / 5 | 4.9 / 5 |
| Ratings Count | 247 | 70,996 | 48,121 | 49,097 | 150,671 | 625,757 | 1,664,875 | 37,197 |
| Price | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Release Date | Dec 16, 2011 | Sep 18, 2019 | Dec 2, 2009 | Dec 2, 2010 | Jun 28, 2009 | Mar 3, 2010 | Sep 29, 2009 | Aug 10, 2021 |
| Last Updated | Apr 15, 2026 | Apr 13, 2026 | Mar 11, 2026 | May 18, 2026 | Mar 30, 2026 | Apr 28, 2026 | Apr 28, 2026 | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Sentiment & Reviews |
| Sentiment | negative | - | negative | terrible | - | negative | terrible | excellent |
| Score | 25/100 | - | 35/100 | 25/100 | - | 35/100 | 15/100 | 88/100 |
| Praises | - Local news coverage provides residents with accurate and timely information about their immediate community
| - | - Reliable local news and weather coverage keeps long-term residents informed about their community
| - Local news coverage provides reliable and educational information for long-term daily viewers
| - | - High quality journalism and in-depth reporting keep long-term readers engaged with daily news cycles
- Reliable app performance provides a consistent reading experience for daily news consumption on mobile
- Diverse content offerings including lifestyle and tech sections provide value beyond standard political reporting
| - Global news coverage provides reliable and timely information for daily readers
- Clean interface design allows for quick navigation of breaking news alerts
| - Life-Saving Utility
- Accurate and Timely Information
|
| Complaints | - Frequent application crashes and freezing during startup prevent users from accessing news content reliably
- Excessive push notifications and intrusive advertisements disrupt the reading experience and clutter the interface
- Navigation failures and broken article links prevent users from accessing the information they seek
| - | - Aggressive advertisement placement and popups frequently obstruct the reading of news articles
| - Persistent app crashes and loading failures prevent access to live news streams
| - | - Perceived editorial bias and corporate influence trigger subscription cancellations among long-term loyal readers
- Poorly implemented comment section updates break user interaction and cause data loss during drafting
- Aggressive monetization and ad density frustrate subscribers who already pay for premium access
| - Aggressive paywall implementation restricts access to news content for long-term users
- Technical instability and frequent crashes disrupt the live streaming experience
| - Sync and Update Issues
- UI/UX Interaction Bugs
|
| Requests | - Granular control over push notification frequency to reduce the volume of non-essential breaking news
| - | - Granular notification controls are requested to limit alerts to specific local regions only
| - Cast-to-TV functionality requested to improve viewing experience on larger home displays
| - | - Improved dark mode consistency for the comment section to match the overall app theme
- Granular control over embedded article links to prevent accidental navigation while scrolling
| - Unified subscription access across cable providers and mobile platforms
| - |
| Strategic Intel |
| Strengths | - Home screen widget maintains brand presence on device home screens
- Live streaming sessions expand total ad-impression inventory
| - | - High-trust investigative journalism anchors local brand loyalty
- Exclusive meteorologist access drives weather-utility retention
- Established North Georgia community brand presence
| - 7 On Your Side advocacy builds high switching costs through community trust
- Exclusive local broadcast content provides a content moat against third-party aggregators
| - | - Award-winning journalism brand sustains high-intent reader acquisition
- Bonus subscription sharing lowers CAC via network effects
- 24/7 news feed maintains relevance in breaking news cycles
| - Global correspondent network provides real-time reporting speed
- Live-first video infrastructure enables immediate breaking news coverage
- Cross-platform streaming access via TV provider authentication
| - Human-in-the-loop verification model
- Non-profit status builds high community trust
- Unique air tanker tracking capabilities
|
| Weaknesses | - 0.7★ Android-iOS rating gap
- Frequent startup crashes prevent core access
- Navigation failures on push notifications
| - | - Ad-driven crashes obstruct article reading
- Non-functional notification filters frustrate users
- Sluggish video playback performance on mobile
| - Persistent app crashes post-update drive high churn rates
- High ad-to-content ratio disrupts the daily viewing habit
| - | - $11.99/month price point exceeds category median
- Comment section technical friction causes data loss
- Aggressive ad density degrades the premium subscriber experience
| - Restrictive paywall alienates long-term loyal users
- Technical instability and login persistence issues post-update
- Excessive ad frequency during live streams
| - Occasional data synchronization delays
- Map interaction UI bugs
- Potential scalability limits of human vetting
|
| Pricing | free | free | free | free | free | subscription | freemium | freemium |
| Momentum | - | Intense | Active | Active | Intense | Maintenance | Active | - |
| Update Cadence | - | 5 versions | 5 versions | 5 versions, ~16d avg | 5 versions | 5 versions, ~8d avg | 5 versions, ~7d avg | - |
