RALEIGH - WRAL will soon make it easier to get the latest local news, weather forecasts and traffic information -- anytime, anywhere. WRAL and Sprint have teamed up to offer Sprint PCS VisionSM customers a graphically-rich display of the latest news, Doppler 5000 weather and Triangle traffic conditions delivered directly to their mobile handset. The mobile edition of WRAL News will be available beginning December 20. Content available through the WRAL News mobile application will include: top news stories and photos, still and looped weather images including the Doppler 5000 radar, the five-day forecast, severe weather watches and warnings, and traffic photos from 13 camera locations in the Triangle.
Sprint PCS Vision customers will be able to download the application by visiting mobile.WRAL.com, Sprint.com or the "Download" area on their Sprint PCS Vision phones. The WRAL news service costs $3.99 per month. The monthly fee provides subscribers unlimited use of the service. The cost is in addition to subscribers' current Sprint PCS Vision plan.
"This new application gives us yet another way to serve the public," said Jim Hefner, vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV. "In addition to using TV, radio and the Web, we are now delivering our news, weather and traffic to mobile phones. This makes sense in an increasingly wireless world."
"With this launch, Sprint underscores again its tradition of leadership and innovation in communications," said Steve Parrott, state public affairs executive for the Carolinas, Sprint. "We take pride in partnering with WRAL on this groundbreaking wireless initiative. This will be the first time we have launched such an application with a regional broadcast organization."
The application will be available on most Sprint PCS Vision Java-enabled handsets. The application was developed for WRAL with help from Atlanta-based Air2Web, whose media customers include The Weather Channel, CBS Sportsline.com and The Times of India Online.
The launch of the new service is another in a series of firsts for the CBS affiliate. WRAL is the first local TV station in the country to develop a special news application for mobile phones. It also was the first digital TV station in the country, the first to broadcast an entire newscast in high definition, and one of the first to develop a comprehensive news Web site.
"The rollout of the WRAL news service follows six months of intense planning, interaction and development," said Earl Struble, Triangle-area sales director, Sprint Business Solutions. "This teamwork has led to a new product that offers our customers an easy and timely application that is fun to use."
To learn more about the mobile news application and the supported phones, visit . The Web site includes sample screen shots of content available to subscribers.
For additional information about WRAL, contact WRAL New Media Director John Conway at (919) 821-8849 (jconway@wral.com). For information about Sprint, contact Sprint Media/Public Relations Manager Tom Matthews at (919) 554-7185 (tom.r.matthews@mail.sprint.coml).
Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. is a diversified communications company which owns and/or operates WRAL-TV , WRAL Digital , WRAL-FM , Microspace , the North Carolina News Network , DTV Plus and Wolfpack Sports Marketing in Raleigh, NC; WJZY-TV and WWWB-TV in Charlotte, NC; WILM-TV in Wilmington, NC; WRAZ-TV and The Durham Bulls in Durham, NC; the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball Club in Myrtle Beach, SC; and various real estate interests in North Carolina.
Sprint (NYSE: FON; www.sprint.com) is a global integrated communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries. With more than $26 billion in annual revenues in 2003, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint provides local communications services in 39 states and the District of Columbia and operates the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.