The Sun paves way for paid content with Bizarre app
The Sun has taken another step towards a paid content model with the launch of The Sun Bizarre app on Android and iPhone.
The UK tabloid earlier this year launched an iPad app and is due to follow sister News International title News of the World in putting its content behind a paywall.
The Bizarre app, priced at £1.19 for a 30-day subscription, offers breaking celebrity news and pictures, and will launch with sponsorship by cosmetics brand Rimmel.
It will use mobile agency Yoc’s Ad Plus platform to serve display and rich-media ads, according to a Sun spokeswoman.
The app, with a live gossip feed from the Bizarre editorial team and celebrity guest tweeters among its key features, has attracted thousands of pre-registrations via thesun.co.uk, she added.
Film, music and TV news, video snippets and picture galleries will sit alongside a version of Bizarre’s print edition from the previous week and that day’s paper, catering for younger readers to accessing the content “wherever and whenever they want”, according to Bizarre editor Gordon Smart.
News International is looking to attract sponsorship of the app from brands that want to communicate with a youth audience.
Earlier this mornth News of the World announced details of its paid content model, ahead of parent News International’s plans to bundle content across its four titles to offer readers greater value and encourage subscriptions.
News Internatioanl rival Trinity Mirror announced plans to launch a similar paid-for celebrity app for its 3am brand, while rival Mail Online is thought to be working on apps. It extended its online celebrity content offering to include the US earlier this year.
This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk
