“‘In the quarter, we have lost about $10 million on The Daily,’ News Corp. president Chase Carey told analysts on the group’s Q3 earnings call,” Robert Andrews reports for paidContent. “A colleague also said The Daily has seen 800,000 downloads since launch.”
“A News Corp. spokesperson later told us the download count is now higher than 800,000,” Andrews reports. “The ‘loss’ is mostly due to investment costs because the app has only just gone paid.”
“Asked on the call, by my colleague Staci Kramer, Carey refused to disclose The Daily‘s free trial to paid subscription conversion ratio. ‘We’re not going to build this in a fishbowl,’ he said. That sort of detailed information is not something we’re going to share publicly at this point,” Andrews reports. “‘It’s really early days,’ Carey said. ‘It’s only a month-plus that it’s been pay-based. It’s actually one of the most downloaded news apps out there. It’s a work-in-progress, we’re proving the technology, refining the content – the tablet market is still in its infancy.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote last month: The Daily is losing audience because it’s a pain in the ass to read. It’s always been that way and it hasn’t improved rapidly enough. We do not want to be forced to learn several new paradigms for accessing content. We just want to read/view/watch/listen to the news. You can’t find anything painlessly in The Daily, so we stopped bothering. Also from News Corp., the less ambitious NY Post app for iPad is far better; it’s navigable without having to screw around pinching and swiping and tapping assorted crap, much of it hidden. Launch the NY Post app and you get their version of the news; that’s all we want.
We don’t want stupid UI puzzles, we just want the effing news!
The Daily needs to remove (or hide) the bells and whistles, open on the Table of Contents (or just copy The NY Post app) and KISS. Then we might consider launching The Daily on our iPads again. Maybe.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Related article:
Twitter data suggests News Corp.’s The Daily iPad news app is losing audience – April 6, 2011
I think the content on The Daily is head and shoulders over the competition. It really shows they have a big editorial team producing daily content larger then print newspapers. The photography, video and page design is exceptional. As far as it being hard to navigate, I don’t get it. Seems easy to me. Could it improve? Absolutely. But I get it. This site either loves it or hates it beyond reason. Their is no in between with you.
I absolutely disagree: the content on the Daily isn’t but the latest example of the degrading standards in journalism. I’m not even referring to the few important political news that are often biased and distorted, but the rest of the publication—uninteresting garbage that helps keeping people’s brain activity very low. WIth all that money invested I would expect brilliant stimulating articles, fresh perspectives, and (yes) a better UI.
I agree with Alex. Too little real news, covered in a superficial manner (regardless of a potential bias), way too much “entertainment news”, sports, and other crap I don’t care about.
I think you guys are wanting it to be something it is not. I agree, I take the opinion stuff with a grain of salt. For the record I am pretty liberal San Franciscan, but do not mind seeing and understanding differing opinion. It gives you high level news, some interesting side articles, and a solid entertainment and sports section for a reasonable .99 cent a week. If I want some hard journalism I can go with The Economist or other sources. This is fine for breakfast reading and found that it’s coverage of the Japan quake and even the Libya situation provided better pics and video then my local morning TV news and proves to be a solid alternative.
Anyway, I love the format, and it does not bode well to see other publications take the risk, if the big pockets of News Corp. with Apple’s backing, is not proving a success. I will continue to support it and look for a better alternative.
Again the UI stuff is not as bad as this site portrays. I also have faith it will improve. Richard Branson’s beautifully flawed Project and Atomix have more need to refine then The Daily imo.
Looking at other posts I will have to try Zite. Heard alot of good things. I also never used Flipboard, beyond social media, I will look into.
I was excited to subscribe immediately to The Daily when it came out, because I liked the idea that they were going to create something game-changing.
Instead what I got, and I read it “Daily” for a month, was some even handed news coverage and a crapload of awful right wing ranting.
They even dug up an uber-consevative South Asian woman to do anti-immigrant bashing and union bashing in her subtly racist columns.
After one too many thinly veiled attempts to foster their lies, wrapped up in some pseudo intellectual sheep’s clothing didn’t do it for me anymore.
Liked their crossword puzzle, though they only give you access to one, USA today is better.
Now you know how some of us feel about the lib media, although its bias is more blatant, lacking the requisite thinking and writing skills.
Seriously, screw the lib media and their adherence to things like facts! News Corp’s easily digested talking points are by far the best news out there.
Have to agree with John. Amazing. Conservatives are always biased, but Leftists never are.
Correct!
The Daily was just DoubleWide Opinion Channel on the iPad.
Leftists can be biased, but they don’t resort to outright lies like the Right, and especially News Corp/Fox, routinely does.
Wow, really? I haven’t heard this. Can you remember what that outright lie was? One of these routine outright lies? Maybe it was something like Dan Rather completely faking an Air National Guard memo to make the president look bad a few years back…
Wow – if you can’t see the outright lies Fox pushes on a constant basis, that is just really sad.
That’s what I thought. Again no example, just accusation. You can do better! (maybe) At least try!
Both political parties have their media advocates, but the GOP has made a much more organized and pervasive effort to win mind share through the media. Consider all of the GOP Presidential hopefuls currently employed by the media.
To respond to your question, Scotavius, just off the cuff I recall a video clip of a large crowd at the Washington D.C. mall that was passed off as being part of Beck’s rally to substantial wide claims of crowd size. Too bad that video clip was from another event! Deceptively repurposing video and cropping statements is an art form on Fox “News.”
Both political parties There are too many incidents to remember – check out the Daily Show or Colbert Report for some good ones.
Note: Just because people don’t respond to your “challenges” does not make you right.
Any time some Rep gets caught doing something wrong, Fox labels them as “Dem” instead – just to make Dems look bad. They’ve done it very consistently. It is deliberate and it is a lie.
Recently, on a map of the middle East, Iran was misidentified as “Egypt”. It was deliberate and a lie.
Fox does things like this constantly & their viewers are too stupid to see the constant brain washing.
Got a persecution complex going, do ya’? News flash – everyone is biased. But the right wing has made a business out of distributing its propaganda as fact. As a result, it is currently winning the mindshare battle of the masses in the U.S.
We need a strong centrist movement to filter out the B.S. and focus on the key issues that the government should address. I personally cannot align with the Tea Party – too many nutcases and too inflexible to realistically deal with the challenges that this nation faces.
The daily has to build readership. Porting a current rag already has a large potential readership pool to grow into.
I agree with the mdn take. I was happy to use the free trial and even bought a few weeks, but too many buggy ui gimmicks get in the way, and navigation can be a pain. I am reading with breakfast and I want it fast and easy. I will keep trying it periodically, because I want to be able to give up my paper, but it’s not ready yet.
Best News U’ve Heard All Day.
NewzCrap losing money is wonderful & I hope it loses as much as Fake Newz Channel Makes in the long run. Rupert Murdoch, of “emergency US citizenship” bought and paid for via then Speaker Newt Gingrich, is an old fashioned yellow journalism troll.
If NewzCrap told me the sky was blue I’d want to fact check it because they play so fast and loose with facts. They also are prime purveyors of opinion as verified truth and speaders of canned talking points and rumors as rock solid information.
I completely agree. Somehow Murdoch missed accuracy as something to strive for.
Wow, propaganda much? That “Fake News Channel” has higher viewership than the other cable news networks combined. That’s called ‘fact checking’. Moreover, why do you think that’s the case? Perhaps because the country leans center-right? Perhaps because viewers want to get their news from someone other than far left lap dogs, which was their only option for years.
Last, face it. The news is no longer impartial. CNN killed unbiased coverage when they launched the 24 hour news cycle. MSNBC leans way left. CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, NPR all lean left. FOX leans right. There’s nothing new in those facts. It’s the way our news industry has become.
It’s ironic that you don’t see Conservatives running around accusing MSNBC of being ‘inaccurate’ when they make mistakes. But Liberals are always eager to point the finger at FOX when they mess up regardless of a retraction.
All of these organizations have one thing in common, they fail “journalism 101” to some degree, some more than others.
Further, it’s a joke to suggest The Daily provides balanced news. Fox has been distorting the reality field for quite awhile and this eRag is a good example.
“That “Fake News Channel” has higher viewership than the other cable news networks combined.”
… and most Germans trusted Hitler and the Nazis at the start of WWII. Your point was?
Ratings ≠ honest journalism.
Only those who think Fox News is ‘fair and balanced’ see all other media as ‘left-biased’. FACT CHECKING is the best way to keep politicians and the media honest – PolitiFact, FactCheck, OpenSecrets, Snopes, TruthOut, etc. Don’t let any one media source be your guide.
The constant comparison of people who disagree with you to Hitler is tiresome and silly. Grow up. I do agree with you on one thing… I like to get my news from multiple sources, including some outside the US because I like to learn perspective. The other tactic, trying to ridicule the source thereby mocking anyone who reads it is also childish. It would be interesting to see if this tactic is more of a right-wing or a left-wing practice– I’m not really sure, but it just looks more and more stupid! Disagreeing and expressing opinion is fine, but Insulting half of the country for their opinion is no way to persuade. My opinion is that news from the right is more important when the government leans left, and vice versa. The press should be the fourth estate. You lean left and that’s fine, but try broadening your input a little more and speak to the issues please.
Relax Bob… I wasn’t comparing anyone to Hitler, rather I was trying to make the point that MANY were fooled with misinformation and propaganda only to realize it later. It can happen again if people pledge their allegiance to one news network or a narrow selection of media. I prefer people avoid overly biased media like Fox News and MSNBC and spend more time researching the facts themselves.
Godwins law kicks in again…
yup, only took less than a page on this thread.
When are people going to stop consistently railing on FOX News. FOX News does this, FOX News doesn’t do this. On and on and on. Blah, blah, blah. I know this isn’t breaking news to anyone here but almost every, if not every, news organization spins news in their own way. CNN does it, MSNBC does it, CNBC does it and, also, FOX News does it; to name just a few. Nothing is ever completely unbiased anymore with news organizations skewing the news to fit whatever agenda they want to promote. Using FOX News over and over and over again – as the seemingly “bad guy” and shining example of news corruption all the time – is extremely tiring to me.
FOX news is not biased, it is a blatant propaganda machine. Whether or not you agree with the political slant, it is just that. They are unabashedly so. To say they just have a “slant” is strange, given their obvious allegiance to a particular political viewpoint. This is not just a few facts wrong here or there, this is planned, determined re-crafting of the actual news. If I were a conservative, I would not watch their drivel.
The “liberal media” may be slanted based on a majority of ideology in the newsroom, but it is not a planned propaganda machine of the left.
There were plenty of good conservative journalists and pundits. Fox news unfortunately makes a mockery of them. I’d rather have legitimate counterpoint to my liberal beliefs than a talking point memo that, frankly, is adolescent.
I hate to participate in taking the conversation down a huge rathole, but seriously DRMSSDB?
Have you not heard of the “JournoList” thing? The liberal media is not only a planned propaganda machine of the left, but they coordinate their stories and messages.
You should take to heart Bob’s earlier comment regarding your attempt to ridicule the source. Your attitude is a perfect example.
On topic, The photo’s in the app are great, some really impressive stuff. However, I stopped opening the app because it’s a pain in the ass to use and I finding it annoying that there is no depth to the stories. Can they just add some linkage to deeper research in the stories? It’s supposed to be a modern newspaper. In the 21st century apparently human attention span is only 2 minutes long.
Actually most people have not heard of JournoList. This suggests that so-called “liberal propaganda” organizations are either (1) nowhere as influential and well-funded as NewsCorp or (2) they are much better at clandestine operation than NewsCorp. The 2010 election results would seem to negate possibility (2). I would also note that JournoList on its News Organisation link includes SkyNews, the Times (London), and Sunday Times all three of which are owned by Rupert Murdock. This suggests that the left-wing, “planned propaganda machine” driven by JournoList is getting part of its information from NewsCorp. Oh, the horrible lefty bias.
How anyone can believe huge media corporations are “Liberal” is beyond me.
Exactly. Where is the mythical “lib-media” beast anyway? I’ve never seen it. Neither has anyone else.
Well put Pirate.
Take it from a liberal:
There is no left wing bias at CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN. It’s a myth.
As to Faux NewZ “huge” audience, it’s about 1/5th the size of NBC Nighly News and it skews heavily poor, rural and uneducated. That is the simple truth.
The highest profile audience is PBS NewsHour. Higher income & education- by a couple of dozen country miles.
C’mon, at least pretent to be serious. I mean at least frame your denial in some disguise of a cogent argument.
No left wing bias?
CBS – Dan Rathergate, ’nuff said.
NBC – the likes of Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman, accusations that Cheney always wants to kill, Bush stealing money out of dead soldiers’ pockets.
ABC – Word News anchor George Stephanopoulos not a liberal?
CNN – The venom dripping off hosts’ tongues as they gleefully refered to conservatives as “tea baggers” really doesn’t reveal a liberal bias to you?
No left wing bias? Fail. Mind you, I’m not denying a conservative bias elsewhere, but no you can’t really get away with that.
Stephanopoulos a liberal? That’s a laugh. Not by a long shot.
And just about everything else you mention sounds like what Fox has been telling you to believe – not what has actually been happening.
I have watched every episode of Olbermann (check your spelling) and you completely misrepresent the opinions and principles expressed by Keith. He was occaisionally over the top, but when called on it, apologized. FOX never apologizes. You have obviously never viewed, but are only repeating the FOX, or wherever you download your “facts”, party line.
I know a pirate who needs a hug……
“MSNBC leans way left. CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, NPR all lean left. FOX leans right.”
Oh please. They lean “entertainment”, not left.
And Fox doesn’t even pretend to be “news” any longer. It’s just straight propaganda.
Wow… Mentioning Murdoch really makes some people lose it, including their ability to spell “News” correctly LOL. Hey RDF, the sky is blue, better check it! By the way, there are lots of us and the number is growing… look behind you…. BOO! As for The Daily, I agree– it needs to cut down on bells and whistles and work. Perhaps they will get it there some day;)
If I want the effin news, I surely wouldn’t look for it on Fox, the Post, or any Murdoch publication. I’m surprised Steve even let this on his products.
how the hell do you lose 10 million on a glorified blog full of repurposed news you already paid to collect.
The format was cool, but the news was too bias like some of Murdoch’s other media outlets.
i feel so sorry for rupert murdoch want to zzzzzzzz
i feel so sorry for rupert murdoch it makes me want to
zzzzzzzz
Mayonnaise
U never were interested in the daily and u didn’t subscribe to it.
Content! There is no content – well, not news anyway… I trialled The Daily but 4 news items do not make a newspaper, and I’m not into gossip and celebs…
As a subscriber to The Daily, I agree about the complaints of subtle ring-wing crap that is in the Daily. Now, I just skip the opinion pieces. It would be more interesting if they had both views in their opinion pieces. Other than that, I love it.
I like “The Daily”… but damn it, this is twice now that I agree with MDN: It’s just not a user-friendly app.
MDN is way off. Compare The Daily to ABC news’ spinning globe of doom, that’s a cluster eff. The Daily’s shortcomings are small compared to others out there.
MDN says: Launch the NY Post app and you get their version of the news. Truer words are hard to find!
Love The Daily, most of it anyway.
Hated the NY Post. Horrible fonts, and it looks like a photo of the newspaper. I think I got dirty newspaper ink on my fingers just reading the ugly app.
wow. I couldn’t figure out anything about he daily because it crashed nonstop and it was deleted. I don’t have time for that shit.
I disagree with MDN. I have no problem with the navigation and the “new” paradigm. Alas, I also agree with others that the content is too weak. And there is too much bias in what should be real “news” articles. In spite of some suggesting a conservative bias, I have seen what seemed to be the opposite: liberal bias. Whichever, we should have objective reporting… or at least as much as possible.
And I do like some of the shorter “fluff” articles so I have no problem if they stay.
Whatever happens, I hope they strengthen and survive. I haven’t given up on The Daily. They just need to get things together.
I agree with the poor reviews of the Daily. It’s interesting to try when try, but there is NO WAY I would pay for it. My news app of choice is Zite, followed by Flipboard. Both feature a wide mix of mainstream and independent media that gives one a well rounded view of the news. The Daily does not.
What? MDN not sucking at the teat of the cult of Jobs? A new day has truly dawned.
What is sad with media these days? It’s all about labeling people. No longer are people individuals – they are either right wing, or left wing, conservatives or liberals. You all attack each other. Ten ore generations and you will have evolved into hate groups. Be proud people. Be proud of yourselves.
Scotavius, that’s the kind of lie you neo-cons gobble up. Try getting it from somewhere other than Fox, for a change. Rather was suckered into believing in a fake document. The source of that document had suspicious conservative ties. It was a classic trick (umm, Rove, maybe?) to immunize W from further attacks on that subject… Why? Because W was vulnerable. It’s thanks to the willfully ignorant, like you, that we ended up with a president whose most notable achievement to date before being elected was going AWOL on a drug binge during the National Guard duty that got him out of Vietnam. But as president, then going on ignore counter-terrorism before 9/11, overseeing the worst terrorist attack on our country, allowing Bin Laden to escape from Tora Bora, using Bin Laden to justify an unprovoked war against Iraq that has killed hundreds of thousands and counting, twiddling his thumbs during Katrina, gave away the budget surplus to the rich, blew up the deficit, and as a final F-U trashed the economy on the way out the door.
There was no need for Rather to try to make him look bad. He took care of that all on his own.
I used to be a centrist, but the breathtaking hypocrisy and lies of the right drove me to the left. It’s much easier to sleep at night over here.
LOL- from Macworld:
“Apparently, the app has also been download more than 800,000 times, though reportedly 700,000 of those people mistakenly thought they were downloading The Daily Show.”
It’s a great App, and has evolved nicely since launch. As many have mentioned, there has been some great coverage of some major news events in there that I did not see elsewhere.
As with all things though, it can certainly get better, but launch times have been improved, and it is certainly operating better than it was at the beginning.
I like it.
I’m only going to say this once. Today’s news is instantaneous; people don’t want to know what happened yesterday. The Daily is always a day behind and has ZERO name equity outside of our geeky circles. There is always room for a well researched article but now-a-days it needs to be intermingled with real time news. Think: Google News + The New York Times + Esquire.