Report updated Apr 17, 2026
NBC 4 New York: News & Weather
For residents of the New York tri-state area (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut) seeking local news and weather.
NBC 4 New York: News & Weather is a challenged news app that is completely free. With a 4.3/5 rating from 5.2K reviews, it faces significant user friction. Users particularly appreciate content quality, though app stability and crashes remains a common concern.
What is NBC 4 New York: News & Weather?
Current Momentum
v8.7 · 1w ago
ActiveNBC 4 New York recently introduced 'Video Shorts,' a new home screen section featuring phone-friendly news videos from local journalists.
Active Nemesis
ABC7 New York
By ABC
Other Rivals
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User MoodAI-powered deep analysis surfacing high-signal insights. Still in beta, accuracy improves daily. For informational purposes only.
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
How Is The App's Momentum Right Now?
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What Are The Key Features?
Free, dedicated live streaming featuring local newscasts and exclusive content.
High-frequency S-Band dual polarization fixed Doppler weather radar.
Access to award-winning investigative journalism and consumer advocacy.
How much does it cost?
- Free to download and use
Monetized via advertising and ecosystem engagement; uses Nielsen proprietary software to contribute to TV ratings.
Who Built It?
NBCUniversal Media
Delivering live sports, news, and entertainment media alongside integrated digital utility for physical theme park experiences.
Portfolio
13
Apps
Who is NBCUniversal Media?
NBCUniversal leverages its massive library of exclusive media rights and physical theme park assets to maintain a dual-pronged mobile presence: high-stakes live streaming and on-site utility. Their moat is built on proprietary IP—ranging from Sunday Night Football to Super Nintendo World—which drives user adoption despite technical friction in legacy streaming interfaces. The portfolio is currently consolidating around a unified NBCUniversal Profile to bridge the gap between regional news, national entertainment, and destination-based travel services.
Who is NBCUniversal Media for?
- Broad consumer base
- Sports fans
- Spanish-speaking viewers
- Theme park visitors seeking logistics
Portfolio momentum
The publisher maintains an intense development pace with 57 releases across its portfolio in the last 6 months and 14 out of 15 apps remaining active.
What other apps does NBCUniversal Media make?
NBC10 Boston: News & Weather
The NBC App – Stream TV Shows
Universal Orlando Resort
Telemundo Puerto Rico
NBC Sports
NBC4 Washington: Local DC News
What do users think recently?
High confidence · Latest 100 of 5.2K total reviews analyzed
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a frustrated sentiment. Users appreciate content quality, but report app stability and crashes and notification management.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
What is the competitive landscape for NBC 4 New York: News & Weather?
How's The News Market?
How does it evolve in the News market?
| Country | Category | Chart | Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 US | News | iOSFree | #92 | NEW |
| 🇺🇸 US | News & Magazines | AndroidFree | #163 | ▼30 |
The rivals identified
The Nemesis
ABC7 New York
ABC, Inc.
The primary broadcast rival in the New York DMA, offering a near-identical value proposition of 24/7 local news streaming and high-frequency weather updates.
Head to Head
ABC7 currently holds the edge in user experience due to higher stability and stronger sentiment. While NBC 4 offers deeper investigative content and superior radar tech, technical performance issues are driving a declining trend in its market position.
What sets NBC 4 New York: News & Weather apart
Superior investigative depth through the award-winning I-Team and 'Better Get Baquero' consumer advocacy
Proprietary StormTracker 4 radar technology provides more granular local data than standard weather APIs
What's ABC7 New York's Edge
Stronger overall sentiment and higher user ratings regarding app stability
More streamlined notification management, avoiding the 'spam' complaints currently affecting NBC 4
Contenders
Hyper-local focus on specific counties rather than just the five boroughs
Exclusive local sports coverage for high school and regional teams
Peers
User-generated live video and real-time incident tracking
Location-based safety alerts that often precede traditional news reports
New Kids on the Block
AI-driven personalization that surfaces neighborhood-level news
Aggregates content from multiple local sources into a single feed
Award-winning 'SmartView' for fast, clutter-free reading
Highly customizable local news tabs for multiple zip codes
The outtake for NBC 4 New York: News & Weather
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Proprietary StormTracker 4 radar technology
- Award-winning I-Team investigative content
- 24/7 live streaming news channel
Critical Frictions
- High frequency of app crashes and loading failures
- Inaccurate weather data sync (time-lagged results)
- Inflexible notification settings and small font sizes
Growth Levers
- Hyper-local suburban targeting to challenge News 12
- AI-driven content personalization to counter NewsBreak
Market Threats
- ABC7's superior app stability and user sentiment
- Citizen's dominance in real-time safety alerts
What are the next best moves?
Prioritize a stability patch for Android (specifically Galaxy S25 Ultra)
Stability and crashes are the #1 complaint theme and are likely driving the #78 (↓41) ranking decline.
Audit and fix notification 'opt-out' logic
Users report receiving Olympics alerts even after disabling them, leading to high frustration and potential uninstalls.
Restore weather widget and radar map functionality
Medium-frequency complaints indicate the core differentiator (StormTracker 4) is currently non-functional for many users.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- AccuWeather integration (available in ABC7)
- Hyper-local county-specific focus (available in News 12)
- AI-driven neighborhood personalization (available in NewsBreak)
Key Takeaways
NBC 4 New York has a content-rich product with a powerful technical differentiator in StormTracker 4, but it is currently failing on the basics of app performance. If the PM does not resolve the critical crash issues and notification spam, the app will continue to lose ground to ABC7, which currently holds the edge in stability and sentiment.
Where Is It Heading?
Declining
Rankings dropped to #78 (↓41) in the US News category.
User sentiment is 'Frustrated' due to persistent technical instability and broken weather widgets.
v8.7 (Mar 2026) added phone-friendly news videos, showing active investment in mobile-first content.