NYT Now, Morning Briefing apps grow audience, increase engagement

The New York Times is constantly striving to capture the minds of the intellectually curious, to tell them interesting stories that enrich their lives, and to satisfy their curiosity in engaging ways. 

As digital, and mobile in particular, become increasingly pervasive for news media, The New York Times continues to be a leader in delivering content that is optimised for mobile and Web consumption via new channels and products. 

On April 2, 2014, The Times launched NYT Now, a new mobile application for iPhone designed to present the news in a highly visual and easily consumable fashion. NYT Now is updated throughout the day and brings together the most important and interesting stories from The Times, curated by a team of Times’ editors. Users are also able to save articles to read later, or share with others via social media, e-mail, or other messaging services.

Included in NYT Now was the launch of the Morning Briefing, a daily news rundown that prepares users for the day ahead by offering a quick summary of the most important stories of the moment. Published every weekday and updated throughout morning, the briefing is now available on the Web, on the core Times’ mobile apps, and is distributed as a dedicated, free e-newsletter.

Since launching, both NYT Now and Morning Briefing have received a positive reception from users and the industry alike. Apple named NYT Now a “Best New App” when it launched in April 2014 and App Store “Best of 2014” late last year. Daily usage has been consistent and user retention is high. 

NYT Now is also attracting a new audience to The New York Times, as a large portion of users have not previously engaged with a Times’ mobile product. And NYT Now has found success with a younger audience, with higher engagement rates among Millennials than typically seen with other Times’ products. 

Morning Briefing’s readership base has consistently grown as well, with open rates of the e-mail newsletter growing steadily. Morning Briefing regularly generates the highest engagement rates of all of the content available on NYT Now on a daily basis.

NYT Now has managed to break new ground in its design and usability, while attracting a new audience to The Times. The combination of Times’ stories with stories from around the Web has allowed NYT Now to offer content that appeals to a wide range of users, broadening the reach of the product. The Times plans to continue to adopt lessons from NYT Now to help drive further success in other corners of its mobile and digital businesses.

About Tom Kulaga

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