Mobile VP Louis Gump says it's now 'centrally important'.
News network CNN is a veteran of the mobile entertainment industry. Its first mobile service was launched back in 1999, after all.
Now it's riding the apps wave, having recently launched its CNN App for iPhone globally a few weeks ago. The broadcaster's VP of mobile, Louis Gump, tells ME how mobile fits into its wider strategy.
"Mobile is now centrally important to CNN," he says. "In the past, it was more of a sideline for the business, but we're now looking at mobile as one of the most important ways that consumers will interact with CNN's brand."
Gump says that CNN's mobile activities have been a bit fragmented in the past, but that the network now takes a more "holistic" approach, working across apps, its mobile website, video content and messaging.
What's driving usage on the app? Gump says it's no surprise.
"Breaking news is a significant driver. When there's a major story, we definitely see increases in traffic, which are sometimes sustained for a considerable period of time. But we also see particular interest [from users of the app] in some of our technology and entertainment coverage."
Is the app appealing just to CNN's existing audience on TV and web, or is it bringing new people to the brand? Gump says, unsurprisingly, that it's both.
"Many of our most loyal users just want CNN wherever they are, but we do see some people who find the mobile a lot more convenient than other devices. We're reaching out to people who are interested in news and know about CNN, but might not be in the habit of going to CNN's content."
Gump says that the iPhone app has also boosted participation in CNN's iReport platform, which lets people submit their own video and photo responses to news stories, while also watching submissions from others.
"A number of new iReports are coming in through the iPhone app," he says. "People can see things that other iReporters have included and respond to that."
One of the interesting things about mobile news apps is the split between branded apps from individual broadcasters, websites or newspapers, and independent apps that look to aggregate and personalise news, filtering stories according to a user's habits and preferences.
How does the latter category fit with CNN though? Gump says that it sees the two categories co-existing peacefully.
"We'll have a situation where aggregated content apps and dedicated content apps will exist side-by-side," he says.
"Some consumers will use both, while others will choose a primary source. We think we have some valuable information about our content, how to display it and the timing of that. Like all branded content providers, what we aspire to is becoming a primary destination every day for consumers."
ME's final question concerns the iPad - a device that's been causing plenty of excitement in news-land since its launch earlier this year.
CNN doesn't yet have an iPad app, and Gump admits to being constrained in what he can say about the company's plans for it. However, it's clear that it's of interest.
"The iPad has really opened a lot of people's eyes to the possibilities of the class of devices that we call mobile tablets," he says.
"If iPhone can do images well, for example, how about the same thing on a larger screen? Plus there's a phenomena that is more appreciated by the month: the way they're passalong devices that people hand to somebody else. They're less personal than a mobile phone."
Anecdotally, Gump talks about people reading an interesting news story and handing their iPad over to a friend or family member to share it.
Another interesting iPad usage trend is the device's suitability for on-sofa usage - people are using it while also watching TV. This ties into wider strains of thinking by broadcasters in particular about what their apps should be like.
"At one point, there was an assumption by many that only one connected device would be used at a time," says Gump.
"That assumption is increasingly going by the wayside. The tablet is so easy to have with you, and to turn on and off quickly, that we're seeing a lot of simultaneous usage."
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