From Pulitzer Prize winning storytelling videos, full 360-degree experiences and virtual reality, we’re now able to not only to report the news, but to allow a completely immersed experience. The user can browse headlines and watch breaking news happening nationally and locally including News, Sports, Entertainment, Technology, Travel, Money, and Weather with a swipe. The TV app design has also been streamlined to create a deeper, richer, more visually-stimulating storytelling experience so that one can get in, get out, and get on with your day.

 

This project started as an idea I had after hearing that Apple was going to release an updated TV device that could connect to the App store. I happened to be in between sprints and had some time to mock up what I thought would be a great way to deliver video content to our audience and possibly increase traffic and downloads amongst our other products.

 

Before Apple released their dev kit, I wanted to make sure we would be one of the first news apps out the door after they released the device. I was unaware of the requirements and specs but I knew from previous experience working with video UI that everything was going to have to be viewable and simpler, especially when you are sitting on your couch 5+ feet away from the TV.

 

Once Apple released their Dev kit I realized that they had four specific templates that people could use when creating an app. However, I felt these templates were limited and did not fit USA Today’s vision for delivering big, bold and visually stunning news. Luckily there was an IOS developer who had some free time and was also interested in Apple’s new offering. Through some back and forths with Apple we were able to determine that we could in fact use a custom template that would better suit USA Today’s feel.

 

Fast forward to when the App was released. We were featured in the App store for a month and later moved to the “Top News” downloads for over a year. With the release of our other native products we are currently trying to introduce new features and possibly cross app integration for our Apple TV app.

 

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