Indianapolis News from 13 WTHR Reviews

by Snarkshift

WTHR has always been my favorite station, nd I e used the old app frequently every day. The new one has no logic to it, too many huge ads spread through the content, and doesn’t do it for so done like me who checks several times daily to catch up on news. I hate to say it but I’m loading another local station’s app so I really can follow Indy news. And why when I am reading news does the tab I do stir at bottom show me in weather? So sorry but too much hassle to dig through.

by Dskmom2210

Channel 13 is my go to channel for everything. News. Weather. Traffic. But since the update, I’m finding it more and more difficult every day to go to IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR . Gone are the icons that lead me straight to the traffic. And this traffic map - it’s just plain horrible. I want to open up a tab that shows me traffic slowdowns in my area. I don’t want to use two fingers to zoom in or move the map. Go back to what you had! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it??!! 2020 is bad enough already.

by Rural92

I’m so disappointed with this new update app!! The previous version had a great traffic tool where you could see traffic issues, zoom in on areas of considered travel, and plan accordingly. Now they’ve tethered any other app into the traffic and it’s not nearly as good and usable as before.
Another challenge I have is finding things. Previous app you quickly found where you wanted to go on the main page and it opened up. Now you scroll looking for what you hope to find. I’ve yet to find the “Live” TV box!
Epic fail by the developer and the station for releasing such a bad tool. I’ll be using another Indy station app until WTHR gets with the program and creates an easy to navigate app. So so so disappointed

by Jasjas34

I installed the new app a few weeks ago. Lately, my iPhone battery has been drained very quickly on an eleven month old phone. Looking at the battery usage in settings, I noticed WTHR app was the culprit: only fifteen minutes of screen time, and 5 hours and 47 minutes of background app refresh.

On top of that, the constant jumping and reloading of stories that plagued the old app continue with this one. Seems like advertisements constantly refresh and cause the feed to reload. Hard to tell what is a legitimate WTHR news story and what is inserted-ad clickbait.

by JohnnyCruse

Latest update: Still awful. The UI is horribly cluttered with ads, the pages don’t scroll well and are jumpy with the ads trying to load as you scroll, and it still just looks awful.

This new app is horrendous. When you scroll, there is little differentiation between stories and clickbait ads. The various channels that were in the old app are gone unless you scroll to the bottom, which is no good. Such a downgrade from the last app, so I won’t be surprised if they see users stop getting their news here based purely on IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR alone.

by 1979cls

I have used the old WTHR app for years and loved it. I hate the new one and will be deleting it. It has far less content. The weather section is minimal and useless now. Where are all the topic areas too? I can’t find local or traffic tabs like the old one. We were traveling on 465 yesterday and came to stopped traffic. My husband was driving f and I got on IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR to see what the traffic was due to. Nothing, didn’t see a single thing. Had to go to a different news channel to find any information. Bye bye app!

by Z'Mary

Well shoot. WTHR is by far my favorite news channel. But your app doesn’t live up in quality.

I submitted multiple reviews for the last app saying I hated getting an alert about a live, breaking news conference only to then be forced to sit thru a 15 second ad before seeing the live stream (plus sometimes the ad was highly inappropriate given the topic of breaking news). By the time I joined, I was about 30 seconds late and missed the “headline statement.”

Now, EACH STORY has a 15 sec ad. Come on, man!

Plus, gone are the icons leading us to the specific topic we want to know about (traffic, sports, closings, etc.) I’d also add that the click-bait fake news stories are not worth the $$ they give you to be present. I can tell the difference between the stories but will every user? Do you really want them going around saying, “So, WTHR reported that a leading surgeon says we can clean our bowels with 2 simple tricks!!”

I assume you’ve already invested in this new developer and can’t go backwards in design. But please - moving forward, do some User Experience testing with your client base to see what WE want, not what helps your bottom line.

I’ll keep IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR for now to watch for design changes but I certainly won’t be coming here as a routine until then.

by Mckinnna

Interface looks great however if you enjoy reading your news IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR stinks. All the serious news stories are hidden between fluff and good-feely junk. Give me top US news, top local news, etc.. Every time you read an article and then go back, you return to the top of the stories list. Every time you scroll through the list of stories and a new ad loads, you are returned to the top of the stories list. It’s so frustrating I’m deleting IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR . WTHR used to be my go to news source but I just can’t with IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR.

by Akschnip

This new app is absolutely terrible. Breaking news notifications come through, I click on it only to go to a screen that doesn’t have my news story. Then, my notification is gone and I have no list of former notifications...a breaking news story lost.

I click on videos and it starts to play then interrupts with an ad that will sir and spin and I never get to play the news video.

I don’t watch tv so IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR used to be how I got my news. But I’m starting to give up on it...way too clunky and wastes my time.

by Dave Rosenthal

Folks, I didn’t think it could get worse. As you scroll it repeats articles, just terrible. Come on, please resolve your issues. News wise you’re always top notch, but IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR forces me to go elsewhere. And once I leave, I may not come back. Please please please help.

Eat your own dog food, and run your own app and pretend as if it’s the only news feed you will read. Within minutes you’ll stop using your own app. Sad. Technology is usually an enabler, in this case it’s ruining your brand.

by Deaf Mac User

What in the world lead you to redesign your app in this way? I would fire IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR designers immediately. My mom updated first and said she couldn’t find news topics and I thought she just needed some help. Nope - you actually took them out. No problem - I’ll just search the issue I’m interested in. Nope - you took that out too. Channel 13 used to be my go to for news on my phone but I am deleting IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR now. Let me know when you bring back an app that allows me to choose what I want to see.

by Ktmusiclady

I look to IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR for local news. There may be one or two local items but then many stories of incidents n events in other towns which I may start to read n then think WAIT that's not here!
Would be MUCH BETTER to carry actual local news and weather with sections for sports, crime, business, etc.
Will continue to check back and hope for improvement.

by Gfskvxtui

I feel like I get updates and alerts from Fox 59 quite a bit sooner than WTHR.
Also, I know a lot of issues have dominated, but it would help if you inserted a happy or pleasant news story also. I grew up watching the news and told how important it was to keep up with current events. But now it is so depressing, I find myself turning the news off, except for weather as it is so violent and depressing. Nothing is happy or uplifting which would also be nice to hear. I personally feel the negativity of stories is making things more heated and worse.
Maybe report an issue and don’t put so much attention to all the negative do maybe the hatred and violence will die down.
Sorry for me being so negative myself, but your news topics and presentation has changed so much in the last couple of years. I hate to see this and hope some happiness and pleasantries can be added soon.

by Cpssm

I have downloaded IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR , but every time I try to use it it tells me to download it again which I cannot do because it’s already downloaded. New is not always better, In other words to use the famous quote “ if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Guess I have to go to another channel to get my news. This one is too difficult to maneuver.

by Wammaw44

Not a fan of IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR. Where are the sports? I must of missed it going thru the pages of stories. Not located at the bottom of my screen like the weather. Also not sure what favorited means. Not in my dictionary. Must mean “favorite”. Need to check your spelling and try using IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR before releasing it.

by Qbcubman

Navigation is not intuitive. Weather is hard to find what you are looking for. Each redesign has resulted in worse user experience. If you are field testing with real users, you are asking the wrong people.

by L2bridges

My review is simple I watch WTHR news and I enjoy the reporting of all stories I especially look forward to Miss Longnecker she has really become part of Indianapolis and I have often wondered why she isn’t in the newsroom as an anchor.

Thank you very much
Leslie Kingston

by Steadfast And Loyal

I have watched Channel 13 for years and have seen many changes over the years. The weather forecasts are so much better. All of the meteorologists do such a good job. I live in Brownstown in Southern Indiana and enjoy it when they show what is going on in our part of the state.

by Gamegal56

App is already locked up on one page and only had it on my phone for five minutes! If this is supposed to be new and improved you need to explain it to me!I guess I’ll have to take it off and start looking at a different news station

by R From The States

IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR is so much better than the previous version. The information is easy to navigate through, the images are more crisp and
the bug that plagued the previous version seems to be fixed.

by Mcc4548

This update is jumpy, unorganized, and ad heavy. Like so many others have said, this is no improvement. Hard to find categories and to read an article. I used to use for go to news, but am deleting IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR and will use Fox 59 instead.

by Pinkpuffles

Confusing update. Have to scroll through everything to find the stories you want to read. The previous version was well organized. This one is not. Total chaos. I have three news apps. This one used to be my go to news app. I am deleting it.

by Idheydn Ufu

Poor design
Cumbersome navigation
Advertisements take center stage

It is important for the public to get their news- it is clear WTHR is focused on their bottom line and not the quality of their product. Ads are completely useless as well- generic at best. At least attempt to mine our data from social media to make the ads relevant.

by AndersonResident

I agree with other reviewers. You are my favorite news channel, but IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR is not helpful. I used the traffic map all the time and preferred it over Waze. I liked narrowing by category. The new layout looks nice but isn’t nearly as useful as the old app. Will switch to another local news app if it isn’t fixed soon, which makes me sad.

by Jeep John

Yep, other raters are spot on. Reading news is like those clickbait sites - half of it is trying to sell you something and the other half is to keep you reading until they get credited for the next ad. IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR is confusing and not well as well organized as the old (and admittedly familiar) app. Not unlike WTHR broadcast news, production quality seems to be declining with time.

by Xxxpug

What was management thinking when they went to this ap? The other ap was great and this one doesnt offer the menu of items for the consumer to choose. I will switch to another station that is easier to navigate.

by Daisy Duke 1

IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR is not well organized. The original map had everything visible and easy to find. I’m most disappointed with the travel section. I used that part of IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR all the time locally and when traveling.

by Squantomohairy

The original app was well organized. You could narrow down on category. Now you get news or weather. I would also use the traffic app each morning. Switching to waze was a bad idea.

I’ll give it a chance, but will probably find a new local news, weather, and traffic app.

by Speachey

IndianapolisNewsfrom13WTHR is okay but the additional ads are annoying. The static banner ads across the top are distracting, on top of the ads when you scroll through the stories.

by Cooperdupe

Way too many advertisements!

by TophuriousX

Going to be opinions either way but I prefer the new look and feel. Modernized and clean.