LOCAL MEDIA APP TRENDS SUMMER 2013 Survey of Local Media App Users
ABOUT THIS PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mobile moves incredibly fast. Keeping pace with both the technology and consumer expectations presents unique challenges and opportunities. Data on mobile usage is helpful, but is by its very nature looking backwards instead of ahead to the future. This survey aspires to answer the qualitative questions that quantitative data simply cannot. Here are a few key findings from our first study: 1 in 4 smartphone owners have a local news app installed. The TV Broadcast is still the primary choice for receiving local news content, as voiced by 47% of the survey population. On-air promotion is the single most important driver of app awareness and downloads, receiving 41% of responses. Apps trump websites for the second choice for local news content. Consumers prefer apps for breaking news, and tablets for reading content. For a paywall to succeed, a local media company must deliver very unique content. Social media is becoming an important source of local news for younger demographics. The + demographic uses local news apps more often than any other age range. METHODOLOGY 4,258 people completed the survey, of which 1,165 had a local news app installed on a smartphone, tablet, or connected TV. The survey data only samples the 1,165 qualified responses. The targeted audience consisted of smartphone owners who must be 18 years or older and reside in the United States. The survey was open to all local news app users, and was not exclusive to StepLeader customers. The survey consisted of 21 questions and took an average of 5m 24s to complete. Prior to completing our survey, respondents completed a demographic questionnaire through our survey partner. This demographic data was appended to our results after the completion of the StepLeader survey. 2
DEMOGRAPHICS AGE GENDER 18-29 30-44 45-45% <18 0% > 24% 33% 29% 14% 55% EDUCATION INCOME 1% 7% 28% 36% DID NOT FINISH HIGH SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL SOME COLLEGE COLLEGE DEGREE 0-25k 25-50k 50-100k 100-150k >150k 28% GRADUATE DEGREE 15% 14% 29% 22% 20% 3
DEMOGRAPHICS DEVICE COVERAGE 92% 37% Have a Local News App Installed On a Tablet NEWS APP REACH 26% Have a Local News App Installed On a Smartphone 4% Have a Local News App Installed On A Connected TV One in 4 Smartphone Owners Use a Local News App DEMOGRAPHIC FINDINGS Local news app users are typically well-educated and affluent with 71% earning more than $50K per year and 92% having college experience. Smartphone is the primary driver of local news app usage. 62% are between the ages of 30 -. 1 in 4 smartphone owners in the United States uses a local news app. 4
APP DISCOVERY WHY DOWNLOAD ONE LOCAL NEWS APP VS. THE OTHER? WHEN DO YOU USE YOUR LOCAL NEWS APP? TOP ANSWERS 36% 32% 35% 1 BEST NEWS 26% 27% 2 BEST WEATHER 3 APP STORE REVIEWS 4 ON-AIR PROMOTION 17% 11% 5 WORD-OF-MOUTH 6 ENGAGING APP DESIGN 7 FAVORITE PERSONALITIES 6AM - 9AM 9AM - 12PM 12AM - 2PM 2PM - 5PM 5PM - 8PM 8PM - 11PM 11PM - 6AM NEWS CONSUMED CONSISTENTLY DURING THE DAY 5
APP DISCOVERY HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE APP? 23% 14% 11% 6% 5% 41% SEARCHED APP ON-AIR STORE PROMOTION 21% STATION WEBSITE REFERRED BY FRIEND/FAMILY SEARCHED ON PHONE BROWSER SEARCHED ONLINE HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO RECOMMEND THE APP TO A FRIEND? VERY LIKELY LIKELY MAYBE RARELY NEVER APP DISCOVERY FINDINGS On-air promotion is the single-most powerful promotional tool a local media company has to expand their digital presence. Station website promotion plus on-air accounts for 55% of app discovery. Consumers know to go directly to the app store to search for local apps. Ensuring smart keyword targeting will help increase an app s discoverability. Quality news and weather content is the primary reason for app downloads. Local media companies do a great job of delivering valuable content. % of consumers are Likely or Very Likely to refer the app to a friend or family member. App traffic peaks in the morning and evenings, but is consumed consistently throughout the day. 39% 27% 10% 3% 6
APP USAGE MY PRIMARY CHOICE FOR GETTING LOCAL NEWS IS... 47% LOCAL TV BROADCAST 17% LOCAL TV APP PRIMARY CHOICE FOR LOCAL NEWS BY AGE LOCAL TV BROADCAST 18-29 30-44 46 - > LOCAL TV APP 18-29 30-44 46 - > 12% LOCAL TV WEBSITE 33% 39% 57% 62% 24% 22% 15% 12% 7% 6% LOCAL NEWSPAPER WEBSITE LOCAL NEWSPAPER PRINT COPY LOCAL TV WEBSITE 18-29 30-44 46 - > LOCAL NEWSPAPER WEBSITE > 18-29 30-44 46-5% SOCIAL MEDIA 4% WORD-OF-MOUTH 14% 17% 12% 5% 8% 8% 6% 9% 1% RADIO SOCIAL MEDIA 18-29 30-44 46 - > LOCAL NEWS PRINT 18-29 30-44 46 - > 14% 8% 3% 1% 5% 4% 6% 11% 7
APP USAGE THE MOST IMPORTANT CATEGORY OF NEWS ON MY LOCAL NEWS APP IS... WHEN USING THE LOCAL NEWS APP ON MY... BREAKING NEWS LOCAL NEWS WEATHER NATIONAL NEWS SPORTS WORLD NEWS TRAFFIC BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY ENTERTAINMENT PHOTO GALLERIES 4% 2.7% 2.2% 1.3% 0.8% 0.6% 0.5% 0.1% 26% 22% 40% NEWS, WEATHER & SPORTS ACCOUNT FOR 97% OF APP INTEREST SMARTPHONE, I PRIMARILY PREFER TO: GET BREAKING NEWS 51% WATCH VIDEO READ CONTENT 4% N/A 41% BROWSE PICTURES TABLET, I PRIMARILY PREFER TO: READ CONTENT 33% 44% 6% NO TABLET OR NO APP 1% 3% BROWSE PICTURES 3% WATCH VIDEO GET BREAKING NEWS 16% 8
APP USAGE HOW MANY TIMES IN THE LAST 7 DAYS HAVE YOU... WATCHED LOCAL NEWS ON TV 7+ USED YOUR LOCAL NEWS APP 7+ 7+ 36% 7+ 32% 6 5% 6 4% 5 4 3 10% 8% 9% 15% 25% 45% 53% 18 30 46 > - - - 29 44 5 4 3 10% 12% 14% 22% 33% 33% 37% 18 30 46 > - - - 29 44 2 11% 2 11% 1 0 8.5% 13% 21% 15% 9% 8% 18 30 46 > - - - 29 44 1 0 9% 8% 11% 10% 7% 5% 18 30 46 > - - - 29 44 0 0 9
APP USAGE WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY FOR A LOCAL NEWS APP? 4% 82% 14% YES NO MAYBE IF YES, HOW MUCH WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY? IF NO, WHY NOT? WHAT WOULD MAKE YOUR MAYBE A YES? 14% $2.99 31% $0.99 12% 10% $3.99 > $3.99 33% $1.99 I can find the content for free on a different local news app 27% I can find the content for free from other sources 10% 13% I don t pay for apps 50% Local news is free on TV and website, and should be free on an app If the app was really fun to use 8% 29% If there were no ads 63% If the content was unique and couldn t be found anywhere else 10
APP USAGE WHAT OTHER NEWS APPS DO YOU USE? 1.5% 1.9% 2.0% 3.6% 3.8% 7.2% 8.5% 9.2% 10.4% 11.2% 11.9% 16.8% 18.2% 22.0% 32.3% 33.4% 44.0% News Republic Zite Feedly Pulse BuzzFeed Drudge Report Flipboard Google Reader AP Wall Street Journal None BBC New York Times USA Today Yahoo! Fox News CNN APP USAGE FINDINGS The TV Broadcast remains the king of local content distribution. Across every age range, when someone has an app installed, they prefer using it over the website. Younger demographics show a higher preference towards digital, but still prefer the TV broadcast as the primary source for local news. People in the 18-29 age range consume local news directly from social media at the same percentage as the local media website. Quality, unique news & weather content is crucial to an app s long-term success. Consumers prefer smartphones for breaking news, and tablets for content. Interest in video is double that of photos on a local news app. 87% of the population watches a local TV broadcast at least once a week, while 92% use a local news app once per week. The + age range uses a local news app with higher frequency than all other age groups. Consumer receptiveness to paywall hinges upon local content that is unique, but faces a difficult road with 82% opposed to paying for a local news app. 11.9% of the population exclusively relies upon a local news app instead of a national news app. 11
ABOUT STEPLEADER WHO WE ARE Located in downtown Raleigh, NC, the heart of North Carolina s innovation hub, we ve been innovating and building mobile products since 2004. Today, we help our partners deliver and monetize their timely and critical local content across mobile apps, mobile websites, and smart TV apps. MISSION Provide trusted content producers with the ability to earn revenue through engaging mobile technology, effective ad sales, and great customer service. VALUES Act like an owner Think like a customer Work as a team Take intelligent risks Be a positive influence 12