ABC News’ Mobile Traffic Is Exploding. So It’s Launching Three New Digital Video Brands Ahead Of November

First, it was the so-called “Trump bump.” Then came 2020, which brought a vortex of era-defining news stories – all unfolding simultaneously, all jockeying for attention, and each of them still playing out in the form of the presidential election, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the combined struggle for racial justice along with protests against police brutality.

News brands are grappling with how to cover it all, while also undergoing big, impactful changes of their own. To take advantage of a boom it’s seeing in mobile traffic, for example, ABC News has decided to launch three new digital video brands ahead of the November election (new franchises, by the way, that ABC News plans to continue beyond 2020). This includes a new daily headline show that will be released in the middle of the day, five days a week, as part of an effort to help the news division of the eponymous broadcast network go deeper on big stories – and to capture more engagement from news-hungry consumers.

The videos from these three new brands will “live” on ABCNews.com, the ABC News app, and across the network’s social media platforms, and they include:

• Notified. This is the day headline show that will touch on the biggest stories of the day, released at midday each weekday.

• Examined. ABC is calling this a “deep-diving, explainer franchise” that leans on ABC News’ stable of reporters, outside experts, and archived content to explore big news stories.

• Voices. The third new video brand is something the network began experimenting with during the COVID-19 pandemic – mixing character-heavy, diary-style interviews and tying the reporters’ resulting stories to visuals that include bold, easily digestible graphics of the kind that mobile audiences are drawn to. Here’s an example of a recent Voices piece, which tells the story of a first responder who survived the Sept. 11 terror attacks and who was diagnosed with the coronavirus this year.

“The three franchises we’re rolling out are, generally speaking, focused on providing explanations and deep dives into key issues that are driving news cycles, presenting the most important stories of the day, and putting real people’s voices and their stories front and center,” Terry Hurlbutt, Vice President and Executive Editor for ABCNews Digital, said. “These brands will cover all the stories that impact people’s lives.

“We’re pulling the trigger now because we foresee that for the next few months it’s likely that the election and COVID will continue to heavily influence people’s everyday lives and thus drive the storytelling and videos produced for these brands.”

Mobile traffic soaring in 2020

One reason this is a smart play has to do with the fact that news brands often lose viewership on mobile to the big tech giants, with their content housed on the likes of everything from YouTube to Snapchat. According to Hurlbutt, the number of average monthly mobile visitors ABC News is seeing so far in 2020 is up 70% against the average from 2019. Similarly, the number of average monthly video views this year is up more than 37% over the same timespan.

“With our overall mobile and video strategy, I want to be sure that whenever someone needs information, an explanation, or even just a quick dose of inspiration, they have a trusted source at the literal tips of their fingers,” Hurlbutt said about the new strategy. “The mobile space still feels largely in its infancy, so we need to continue to innovate and learn, but these new franchises highlight ABC News’ approach – smart, engaging video content designed for your device of choice.”

This all comes as ABC News’ legacy and more established programming provides the network something of a foundation for these new video franchises to build on. ABC News recently announced, for example, that its nightly newscast World News Tonight has been enjoying its most-watched season in 17 years as well as its strongest performance in the Adults 25-54 demographic in five years.

That streak will no doubt continue next week, when ABC News is set to present a live town hall with President Trump and undecided voters on September 15. The event will be hosted by ABC chief anchor George Stephanopoulos.