CNN ran its portal and app on outdated, hard-to-customize technology that limited both the experience and advertising. Working with a São Paulo software house, Frame was brought in to shape a new, mostly native iOS and Android app, deciding what could still be reused from the web.

After a discovery on business and editorial goals, we mapped the information architecture and reading journeys. The homepage was reorganized, video gained categories, filters and playlists, live TV stays on screen while browsing, and Stories, blogs and columns got new space.

Frame turned monetization goals into a product plan, with ads across home, articles, video and live, and an incremental roadmap for a first launch in under four months, balancing experience quality and feasibility with the development team.

With the new design and CNN’s own repositioning, the app’s rating climbed from 3.2 to 4.8 in the stores within a few months of launch. The first release shipped in under four months, and the full app was delivered in eight.

CNN’s key assets now lead the experience: live TV is always one tap away, videos play like a channel with playlists, and Stories, blogs and columns open new ways to follow the news, with notifications by topic that lead straight back into the app.

Native iOS and Android apps give CNN the autonomy to evolve the product on its own terms, with advertising built into every key point of the journey, from the homepage to live broadcasts.