This app is giving streaming TV news a second try
Watchup, the once-buzzy news video streaming service, is trying its hand again at the news game with a relaunch this week.
The new app emphasizes speed, with the company claiming to get users to video three times faster.
Founded in 2012, Watchup gained some attention in 2014 when it was named one of the best apps of the year by Google. In the same year, the company raised $3.75 million in funding, according to Crunchbase.
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In the two years since, Watchup has flown under the radar.
The company announced Wednesday it was relaunching with a new version of its app "just in time for the final stretch of the election cycle."
Watchup streams 164 news channels from around the world. It personalizes what a viewer sees based on their interests and favorite channels. The app is free for users.
Short videos from different stations — including BBC, Al Jazeera, Fox News, CNBC and CNN — populate the user's feed and stream one after the other like a constantly changing news broadcast.
"There’s a lot of demand and need out there for serious, trusted sources of news content — but people are used to, and rightfully expect, to be able to watch everything in the same place," Watchup founder Adriano Farano said in a press release.
No one has truly mastered news video online, particularly for smartphones. Watchup hopes to be the one to translate traditional TV news to on-the-go streaming.
It started off strong in 2014. Now it's time for the second go-around.
Emma Hinchliffe is a business reporter at Mashable. Before joining Mashable, she covered business and metro news at the Houston Chronicle.
