February 6, 2014

NBC News is creating a harder push into original content and reporting with a brand new responsive Web page and redesigned iOS and Android applications.

The news organization claims that here is the largest digital revamp of its Website online since its three way partnership with Microsoft resulted in July 2012. As NBC News looks to delve further into digital, the goal behind the recent mobile products is to play up stories that exploit readers discovering content through social media and other digital platforms while downplaying the point of interest on traditional news sectors.

“Over the past year, we were really fascinated with first, how you can best translate NBC News to digital, and the largest component of that was embracing the manner that our audience discovers and shares their stories and news,” said Greg Gittrich, vp of reports and product at NBC News and executive editor at NBCNews.com, The big apple.

“It was never an option to not be mobile-first,” he said. 

“We started with a content strategy that was targeting how can we truly tell stories in a digital way in order that we will move on the speed of the social Web, but additionally deliver original journalism and quality storytelling in a method that was highly sharable.”

Revamped news
NBC News’ site and apps now place a much bigger emphasis on visuals.

For example, the responsive site contains a new video player and original digital content.

The new original content includes two new series called “Start Me” and “The Debunker” that present news through animated shorts or content that shows how consumers’ assumptions about news topics don’t seem to be necessarily true.

Additional original content franchises are planned to roll out within the near future.

The idea is that a narrative nowadays can tackle many alternative forms at the present time including images, tweets, GIFs, videos or a totally-produced story that includes different types of storytelling.

An article on NBC News’ site

Infinite scrolling can be now included in order that consumers can access a continuing stream of stories articles and content.

NBC News also has added a brand new vertical to its coverage that focuses across the Latino community and has plans to roll out another vertical so that it will hone in at the Asian Pacific Islander community.

“We’re concentrating on stories, storylines after which our well-known journalists,” Mr. Gittrich said. 

“So we’ve de-prioritized traditional sections and feature chosen to steer with coverage that we all know our audience is concerned about and arcs of coverage that we’re investing significant resources around original reporting,” he said.

On the advertising side, NBC has rolled out several new ad units into the responsive site.

The first product is an edge-to-edge unit that matches around the width of a browser and will be put on the homepage or within a stream of news.

NBC News is likewise investing in native advertising and sponsored content. 

Moreover, there are advertising opportunities around sponsored storylines that cover arcs of coverage.

For example, an advertiser could be incorporated into specific news topic with ads which are clearly marked as ads and placed within coverage areas including technology or health.

Updated apps
NBC News has also revamped its iOS and Android apps with most of the same features which might be included inside the responsive site.

For instance, the app was updated to incorporate faster visuals and a stream of content.

The app also now downloads articles automatically in order that readers would not have to be connected to a wireless network to read new stories.

The new NBC News iPhone app

There also is a split-screen feature that lets consumers watch a video while also reading a narrative.

“The way we view here’s that we have a fantastic foundation to construct upon,” Mr. Gittrich said.

“This is easily the start, and inside the days, weeks, months ahead, you’ll see new features, you’ll see more interactives,” he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York