ABC7 Los Angeles

Review by eFreeware

Local news is awkward to follow if you have cut the cord or moved away from the region. Broadcast schedules do not bend around your day, and social feeds tend to surface whatever is loudest rather than what is happening a few miles from home. ABC7 Los Angeles is a free app from Disney built to close that gap for Southern California viewers, and it has been on Google Play since May 2013.

The pitch is straightforward: live and on-demand streaming of Eyewitness News, more programming from On The Red Carpet, ABC News Live, and news from around the country. The developer describes the channel as Southern California's news leader, and the app is the mobile route into that coverage.

It has a 4.0 average from 17,872 ratings and more than 500,000 installs, which tells you it has found a steady audience without becoming one of the giant general-purpose news apps. I would treat it as a regional service first and a national one second.

Who gets the most from it

The clearest fit is someone in the Los Angeles area who wants the local newscast without a TV set. On-demand Eyewitness News and customized breaking news and weather alerts point to the same viewer.

A second group is people with ties to the region who live elsewhere. Former residents and anyone tracking Southern California stories can follow the same coverage, with a national feed as backup.

On The Red Carpet widens things slightly, since its entertainment coverage is not strictly local news. It will appeal to awards-season followers and sits comfortably beside the newsroom output.

Live streaming and on-demand newscasts

The core is the Eyewitness News stream, live or on demand. That is the difference between scheduling your evening around a broadcast and fitting it into a quiet half hour.

Alongside the local newscasts, the app carries ABC News Live and national reporting, a second layer for days when the big story is elsewhere. The developer lists it as free.

On The Red Carpet programming rounds out the video offering. It is a different register from the newsroom coverage, and you either follow it or skip it.

Alerts tuned to your area

Customized breaking news and weather alerts are where a regional news app earns a permanent spot. They are tied to the channel's own coverage, not a generic national push.

Weather alerts matter in a region with fire seasons, heat waves and heavy rain. Notifications, rather than opening the app to check, are the practical advantage, and you control how many you get.

The latest update is described as bug fixes and general improvements, so it focuses on stability rather than new features, which is reasonable for an app running since 2013.

What it costs and what comes with it

The app is free to download with no in-app purchases, though it does contain advertising. There is no subscription tier to weigh.

For a news app, that trade is familiar. You get live and on-demand streaming, national coverage and alerts without paying anything. Whether that bothers you is a matter of how much you use it and how tolerant you are of ads in a video player.

If you already pay for a streaming service or news subscription, this app is not competing on breadth. It is a regional service, so weigh a local feed against a national product.

A regional service worth keeping on your phone

ABC7 Los Angeles does one job well: it puts a Southern California newsroom in your pocket, live or on demand, with alerts that follow the stories that newsroom covers. The additions of ABC News Live and On The Red Carpet give it enough range that it does not feel like a single-purpose stream.

The reservations are the ones that come with the territory. It carries advertising, and its center of gravity is unmistakably Southern California, which is exactly what makes it useful to some viewers and beside the point to others. If you want a broad national news app with a huge catalog, a general-purpose service will cover more ground; if you want your local newscast on your own schedule, this is built for that.

I would suggest it to people with a real connection to the Los Angeles area, whether they live there now or follow it from elsewhere. With more than 500,000 installs and a 4.0 average, it has clearly settled into that role for a sizable audience.

What's new

This release includes various bug fixes and improvements to continue providing a best-in-class news experience.