Sandhya Raman talks to Louis Gump, vice president of CNN Mobile.

FierceMobileContent: How does CNN profit from mobile?

Gump: Advertising is the primary financial growth provider for CNN Mobile, and it is really that simple. We did launch a paid app on the iPhone in September of 2009 and it was successful. On the other hand, one of the dynamics of the app market is that free apps tend to draw a lot more users. Because advertisers are increasingly interested in the mobile platform, we actually had a stronger revenue pace of the ad-supported app than we did for a paid app at the core product level. And so what we are seeing is that advertising is to fund products across our portfolio.

I would also say however, if I interpret your question a little more broadly and more than just financial in nature, that mobile enriches the ways that consumers can access CNN. We can do things on mobile platforms that other people can't do. And I can give you a couple examples of that. One of them is about a week ago when the news came through about [Osama] bin Laden [when he was killed]. Sunday night 10-11 o'clock at night, a lot of people had turned off their TVs and were going to bed, they got alerts on their phones and immediately checked their iPads or phones, or Android devices or they went to their TV. And they went to tune in and they got their news sooner because of the unique capabilities of phones.

And the second aspect of this is that a major portion of what we price is our iReport. IReport is our citizen journalism tool. What happens is that we are getting incredible submissions via these mobile devices which are not only becoming a part of the iReport content community, but are used extensively on air on CNN. So not only is it enriching the consumer experience but it is also contributing content that we never could have had otherwise.

You can read the full interview from Fierce Mobile Content here.

CNN has scored seven nominations in the 15th Annual Webby Awards, an international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites.

CNN's nominations this year:

News/Handheld devices category - CNN Mobile
Web/Radio/Podcast category - CNN Podcasts
News & Politics: Individual Episode category - CNN Money
Financial Services Category - CNN Money
Online Film and Video/Video Remixes/Mashups - CNN Walk Around the World
Web/Best Visual Design – Function - CNN Home And Away
Best Navigation/Structure - CNN Home And Away

Voting in the 15th Annual Webby Awards is open now and closes on April 28. The winners will be announced in an online ceremony on June 13.

To vote, or to review other nominees, click here.

CNN Press Release - Today, Google held a press event at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters to preview Honeycomb 3.0 and how developers are using the platform. CNN was one of three brands selected to join Google on stage to give a sneak peek of CNN's latest mobile application: the CNN App on Android.

The app is scheduled to launch in Android Market soon in conjunction with the Android tablet's commercial launch.

Some highlights of the CNN App on Android Tablet are as follows:

• Available for the Honeycomb platform, 3.0 SDK at launch
• iReport capture and upload functionality is available first on Android tablets
• Live and on-demand video, plus CNN Radio updates
• Available for free on Android Market

During the event, CNN vice president of mobile Louis Gump and CNN.com participation director Lila King demonstrated a select few of the application's features, including:

Broadsheet: This main screen makes a broad range of stories easily accessible to the user by presenting up to 350 of the latest news stories in a grid-format that features powerful imagery and headlines. Users can dive more deeply into a topic by selecting from the navigation fragment or by swiping left and right. Further, the customized action bar offers direct access to iReport, Live Video and CNN Radio updates.

Live Video: Taking advantage of Honeycomb’s HTTP live streaming capabilities, CNN is delivering raw domestic and international live feeds for major stories and in breaking news scenarios

iReport: This is the first time that iReport has been available on a tablet. The CNN App for Android lets users browse user-generated content; register, sign-in to their account or sign on as a guest to capture and instantly upload user-generated photos and videos (through the front and rear cameras). Users can also browse iReport’s latest “assignments,” asking the community to weigh in on various news stories. Honeycomb's status bar pops up in the notifications tray, which lets a user know that their story has been uploaded. It continues to upload even when the app is closed.

CNN Press Release: CNN PRIMETIME GROWS COMPARED TO 4TH QUARTER AVERAGE; SURPASSES MSNBC DURING DAYTIME. Piers Morgan Tonight Off to a Strong Start; Parker Spitzer Gaining Ground Post Olbermann. 105 Million People Viewed CNN in January; 15 Million More than Fox News. CNN.com Traffic Spikes in January 2011.

In January, CNN”s M-F primetime grew compared to the network’s 4th quarter average, increasing 10% among total viewers (697k vs. 631k) and 10% in the key demographic adults 25-54 (204k vs. 186k).

Launch-to-date (January 17-28) Piers Morgan Tonight at 9p is off to a strong start, averaging 978k total viewers and 279k in the demographic adults 25-54. This represents a 50% increase compared to CNN’s 9p 4th quarter average among total viewers (654k) and 65% more in adults 25-54 (169k). PMT topped MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow show since launch among younger 18-49 viewers (217k vs. 198k).

Since Keith Olbermann left MSNBC, Parker Spitzer has gained ground, increasing +54% in the key demo 25-54 (163k vs. 106k), while MSNBC’s Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell dropped -21% vs. the prior week (232k vs. 292k) – omitting Tuesday’s State of the Union coverage.

In January, CNN topped MSNBC during the daytime (9am-5pm) in both total viewers and the key demo 25-54. In head-to-head comparisons with MSNBC’s daytime non-opinion programming, CNN had a 40% advantage among total viewers (456k vs. 325k) and a 64% lead among adults 25-54 (123k vs. 75k). MSNBC placed fourth every hour during the daytime in the demo 25-54, except at 4pm where they placed third behind CNN Newsroom.

Also in January, State of the Union with Candy Crowley at noon had its best month ever among total viewers (717k). CNN’s Sunday show line up topped MSNBC in both total viewers and in the demo from 10a–2p (Fareed Zakaria GPS, Reliable Sources and State of the Union with Candy Crowley).

CNN reached a cumulative audience of 105 million viewers in January, FNC lagged behind with 90 million, and MSNBC averaged had 87 million.

(Of note: Data comparisons to a year ago (January 2010) were not used due to last’s years highly elevated news cycle resulting from the Haiti earthquake and its aftermath.)


CNN Digital

Traffic:

In January, CNN.com was up globally 10% year over year:

Breaking News: The shootings in Arizona and the protests in Egypt drove traffic to CNN.com in January.

Arizona: CNN’s global coverage of the shootings in Arizona yielded 44 million page views on the day of the shootings (Saturday, January 8, 2011), a 48% gain over typical Saturday traffic. CNN.com also registered more than 2.7 million video starts, a 63% jump from typical Saturday video usage.

Egypt: In the first 3 days of the protests in Egypt, CNN.com globally generated 121 million page views, an increase of 11% over the prior 4-week average, and 11 million video starts, a 78% increase over the prior 4-week average.

Blogs: With 116 million page views in the U.S. in January, the CNN Blog network was up year over year by 164%.

Rounding out the top five were This Just In, The Political Ticker, The Marquee Blog, The Chart and Nancy Grace.

In the first week of Piers Morgan Tonight, the show’s blog generated 1.2 million page views, placing it among the top 5 blogs for the week.

(Source: Omniture SiteCatalyst. Prior 4-week averages include weekends of 1/22, 1/15, 12/18 and 12/11)


Mobile:

CNN Mobile is No. 1 in Mobile in News and Current Events for 4 years or 48 consecutive months.

With 14.5 million monthly unique visitors in the U.S. in December 2010, CNN Digital on mobile beat the nearest competitor, Fox News Digital, by 33%. (Source: Nielsen Mobile MediaView – Dec. 2010 – latest data available) (Source: Nielsen Mobile Mediaview, December 2010)


Social Media:

In January, CNN continued to make strides in social media

iReport: iReport increased its registered users base to 738,929 through the end of January. During the month of January, CNN’s iReport received 329 submissions related to the Arizona shootings with 21 vetted for use on CNN. iReporters also submitted nearly 586 iReports in January related to the protests in Egypt, with 53 vetted for use on CNN.

Facebook: CNN leads all news sites in Facebook fans with more than 1.7 million fans. In January, CNN added 100,000 more fans.

Twitter: Key CNN and HLN Twitter accounts* reached 11 million followers in January with @cnnbrk as CNN’s largest account with 3.7 million followers, with over a million more followers than second place’s @NYTimes

YouTube: The CNN YouTube Channel had over 1.6 million video starts in January, up 79% vs. the prior 4-week average

CNN Press Release - As part of its strategy to move into new frontiers of digital content creation and distribution, CNN has appointed Louis Gump vice president of mobile, it was announced today by KC Estenson, senior vice president and general manager of CNN.com. Gump recently was vice president of mobile for The Weather Channel Interactive, and will join CNN.com on Monday, July 27.

With a range of experiences including eight years in the wireless space and an additional six in business development and strategy, Gump will lead CNN’s mobile business from the company’s Atlanta headquarters, reporting directly to Estenson.

“For more than two years, CNN has been the No. 1 mobile news provider, and there is no better time than the present to take CNN’s mobile experience to new heights,” said Estenson. “Louis has a track record of success and is widely considered a driving force in the mobile industry; and I’m confident that his vision, energy and focus will take CNN mobile to the next level.”

“CNN already is in a position of strength in the mobile space, and the opportunity to further personalize and enrich the CNN experience on handsets is a challenge I’m enthusiastic about taking on,” Gump said. “CNN is committed to delivering news and information to people everywhere, all the time, on every platform, and I’m truly excited to work alongside such talented journalists and technologists to bring the full power of CNN to the mobile audience.”

At The Weather Channel since 2001, Gump held several other roles at the company, including director of business development and director of mobile products and services. Prior to joining The Weather Channel, he served as director of business development at ExpoExchange, product manager at 3MC and business strategy consultant for Accenture.

Since 2003, Gump has served on the Board of Directors for the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), for which he was Global Chairman in 2006. He was recently elected as MMA’s treasurer for the 2009-2010 term. He is active in other industry associations including the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), and participates in the organization’s Wireless Internet Caucus Leadership Council. Last year, he was also named one of the “Top Ten mobiThinkers” in the world, an award given by mobiThinking.com to recognize pioneers in mobile marketing.

Gump received his MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia and his bachelor’s degree from Duke University.

CNN.com is the world's No. 1 destination for online and wireless news, garnering the greatest audience share of total minutes among current events and global news sites. Launched in 1995, CNN.com draws from the resources of CNN Worldwide and its many partners to provide consumers with the most enriching, immediate interaction with news anywhere, seamlessly combining articles, videos, images, interactive features and user-generated content. CNN.com’s news video offering – both live and on-demand – is unparalleled on the Web. CNN.com’s recent awards include an Edward R. Murrow award, a National Headliner award, four EPpy awards and the Online News Association’s award for general excellence.

CNN Pressroom - CNN Mobile has won a Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Mobile News Site of 2008, it was announced this week by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The academy presents the Webby Awards, a leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video and mobile Web sites.

For the 12th Annual Webby Awards, the academy received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and more than 60 countries worldwide. Winners will be honored at a star-studded gala in New York City on June 10. While academy members select the winners of the Webby Awards, the Webby People’s Voice Awards are determined by the online community itself.

“Our focus is on delivering a great mobile experience – from making CNN.com easy to read on a handset to streaming live breaking news video," said Mitch Gelman, senior vice president and senior executive producer of CNN.com. “It is a tremendous honor that Internet users across the globe believe we are doing that well enough to recognize CNN Mobile with a Webby.”

CNN Mobile, the first ad-supported mobile news service available globally, offers an array of services programmed specifically for mobile users including an intuitive, phone-compatible Web site; live streaming video; breaking news alerts; and video-on-demand. Setting a new record for mobile Internet news sites with 4.5 million unique users in February 2008, CNN Mobile has ranked No. 1 among all mobile Internet news providers for 17 months in a row. (Source: Nielsen Online).

CNN.com is the world’s No. 1 destination for online and wireless news, garnering the greatest audience share among current events and global news sites. Launched in 1995, CNN.com draws from the resources of CNN Worldwide and its many partners to provide consumers with the most enriching, immediate interaction with news anywhere, seamlessly combining articles, videos, images, interactive features and user-generated content. CNN.com’s news video offering – both live and on-demand – is unparalleled on the Web. CNN.com’s recent awards include an Edward R. Murrow award, a National Headliner award and two EPpy awards.

Live on CNN, CNN en Español and CNN International:

• Monday, January 28, 2008 — 8:00-10:00 PM ET - Democratic debate with the Congressional Black Caucus - Myrtle Beach, SC
• Wednesday, January 30, 2008 — 8:00-10:00 PM ET - Republican Debate with the LA Times - Simi Valley, CA
• Thursday, January 31, 2008 — 8:00-10:00 PM ET - Democratic Debate with the LA Times - Los Angeles, CA

Other Resources Available:

Broadcast in HD
Available on CNN On Demand
Wireless with CNN Mobile
CNN.com Live Video

Replay on Headline News:

• Tuesday, January 29, 2008 — 10:00 AM to 12:00 NOON ET - Democratic debate with the Congressional Black Caucus - Myrtle Beach, SC
• Thursday, January 31, 2008 — 10:00 AM to 12:00 NOON ET - Republican Debate with the LA Times - Simi Valley, CA
• Friday, February 1, 2008 — 10:00 AM to 12:00 NOON ET - Democratic Debate with the LA Times - Los Angeles, CA