Summary
Short article describes the new iPhone application launched by Capitol Broadcasting for its flagship station WRAL-TV.
Analysis
WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina holds a special place in broadcasting as one of the most innovative TV stations in the country, and the first to offer HDTV.
Now, WRAL has launched the first application for the Apple iPhone on January 6, in partnership with their mobile division News Over Wireless (NOW), which also has agreements with over 100 other local media partners.
I have an iPhone (first generation with the Edge network) and downloaded the app to see for myself. In short, it is amazing. It is the future of local television--news and video, weather, school closings, you name it--all at your fingertips. Some of the video was a bit slow to load and playback, but that's due to me being on the old network more than anything.
Every TV station in the country needs an application like this for smartphones. We're seeing one aspect of the future of television with this application as a true alternative digital platform. This is very exciting.
The next step is getting advertisers on board, but that will happen, and hopefully for the industry as soon as possible.
