News launches augmented reality app as part of Big Bash League push
News Corp has launched an augmented reality app as part of its promotion for this year’s Big Bash League.
The iPhone only News Alive app is part of the media company’s push to amplify Foxtel’s cricket coverage, delivering ‘cricket like never before’ this summer after winning the rights in a joint bid with Seven at the beginning of this year.
News Corp’s latest initiative is part of a broader push across the company to use the cricket rights to drive subscriber numbers to its media properties, having launched its specialist Foxtel cricket channel in October.
The app, built by Melbourne development house Plattar, activates BBL content across News’ metro mastheads through the papers’ iPhone apps.
News Corp Australia’s head of content innovation and strategic partnerships Zac Skulander said: “Our new AR product, News Alive, takes the consumer experience of reading the cricket news in our newspapers to a new level.
“We are effectively bringing the cricket coverage in our printed newspapers to life through AR. Consumers will have special access to video content, match highlights and updates on BBL matches by scanning selected images in our newspapers through any of the four metro masthead apps. This will also be extended to Test Matches, ODIs and T20s.
“Particularly important with cricket, the news will be updated throughout the day, so cricket fans will have the latest information jumping off their pages.”
Skulander said News plans to commercialise the product over coming months by activating client ads and rolling the technology out to selected news stories.
“We see News Alive as furthering the newspaper experience. It will add another dimension to stories, giving our editors and journalists an opportunity to explain what happened behind the scenes or provide breaking news updates.
“For clients, it will be an opportunity to use 3D holograms to showcase their car, hotel, home, or lounge suite.”
Rupert Deans, Plattar CEO, added: “The team at Plattar is thrilled to see News Alive launched across the News Corp Australia metro mastheads.
“Augmented reality is moving to the mainstream. With Plattar we can offer a unique approach to engaging customers with rich personalisation of content, which is fast becoming an expected media language for entertainment experiences. This current campaign is only a small snippet of what is to come.”
Um, News Corp unsuccessfully launched this back in 2009.
No app downloads = no audience
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Not sure why you would download an app to use with your printed newspaper to watch something you could have read and watched online anyway and in half the time?
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