WCVB NewsCenter 5 - Boston Reviews

by Mejdgsjkhfdbicshdctgh

I don't usually take time to write reviews, but with how much I love the tv station, I thought I'd let you know how utterly horrible your app is since the update. Ads on EVERY video, ads all over WCVBNewsCenter5 . Spelling and grammatical errors any 5th grade student would be ashamed of. I can't get through 2 stories without an error. I would think a reporter would proof read before posting! Now whole page ad pop ups! Give me the option to pay to avoid them.

Updated:. New iOS app is still horrible. Full page ads that it doesn't matter if you watch the whole 2:38 ad or close it, it pops up every 30 seconds. Uninstalling WCVBNewsCenter5 and won't be watching any more either.

by Flynswm

Just saw how other reviews..... I’m just amazed by how many people complain about the same usability and ad issues and no changes have been made. WCVBNewsCenter5 requires precision from users - in some cases, I have to tap in a very small area just to get it right. Also, what happened to any of the gesture design for mobile apps? Tapping is the only way. Swipe left to go to next, swipe right to go back, swipe up or down to exist an article.... none of these is used in WCVBNewsCenter5. You know what I hate the most? All these ads. Why do you have to insert a 15 second commercial of your own program when I’m already using your app? I’m not your target audience. You are just driving me away by doing that!

by WandadnaW

Why all the ads?????????? Definitely a TERRIBLE app!!!!! This continues to be the most annoying news App! There are ads, ads, and more ads with each story! If you restart news footage then yet ANOTHER ad plays! WCVB advertises itself as a useful App, however all the ads make WCVBNewsCenter5 the MOST ANNOYING NEWS APP ON MY iPad!!! In addition, WCVB advertises itself for news and weather over, and Over, and OVER AGAIN!!! It is soooooo annoying! I try to avoid using WCVBNewsCenter5 as much as I can! Why can't I just get the news without repeated ads for companies or for WCVB?????????? Why not provide a SKIP AD option??????? Extremely disappointing!!!! Not recommended!!!!!

by The Real Little Rascal

Okay, so you use WCVBNewsCenter5 to get the “local” news, etc., but it’s still not user friendly. I still remember the old app as preferable in many ways, but now we have this. It leaves a lot to be desired.
How many enjoy watching a 30 second ad to see a 20 second video? Not me. I get the 15 second ad, but the big boy news apps let you back out after 15 seconds if the ad is longer. Basically, if I see an ad over 15 seconds, I don’t watch it or the video...lose, lose. And maneuvering is still not very good. If you want to go back, you don’t end up where you started and need to work at finding the articles you were planning to read as next in sequence. If that sounds confusing, it is.
Again, this site gives you the news and weather, but it could be so much better.

by Stefan The Computer Geek

First - I love WCVB the *station*. They do a great job and I only watch channel 5 for my TV news.

However - when it comes to watching the live video stream of their news, WCVBNewsCenter5 is horrible. If all you want to do is watch the news live, don’t waste your time with WCVBNewsCenter5.

Every time you start the video stream you are subjected to at least one 15 second ad. The worst part? If you switch away to another app then back to the WCVB app, you have to restart the stream - and watch ANOTHER ad - and sometimes you get the same ad you were already forced to watch!!

If that forced advertising wasn’t bad enough, the live stream is unreliable at best. It’s often just going to a black screen for minutes on end, and requires you to exit the stream and restart the stream, with - you guessed it - ANOTHER ad or multiple ads.

I don’t mind watching ads - but for Pete’s sake REMEMBER what ads I’ve already seen and DON’T make me watch any ad again if all I had to do was answer a quick text.

I love you WCVB (the station) but WCVBNewsCenter5 is abysmal.

by Terry In Boston

Like the previous person rating the site said, who wants to watch a 30 second ad to see a 20 second video? If one loses the broadcast because of a bad connection and has to reboot, one is asked to sit through an ad all over again, likely missing the story to which you were tuned in. Additionally, the site only allows one to watch the TV horizontally when one has the iPhone in such a position so that the volume controls are at the bottom. It won’t rotate the screen if one tries to put the volume buttons on the top.

by Msbav8r53

I have tried several others, but keep coming back to this one. I like the way it's laid out, the weather section, and the breaking news.
Two main gripes- The page won't rotate into landscape mode. You have to view it in portrait mode. (UPDATE: On my tablet it now works in landscape mode, phone still doesn’t)
Also, the constant attempt to evoke emotions with ridiculous story lines that are way too manufactured and hyperbolic. 3/4 of the stories are agenda-driven nonsense.
Really-" a 7 year old Indian kid brings comfort to millions with an Indian 'health dance'."Really? Did he? Really?!
'A guy dancing around in a tutu only a football field is bringing hope to cancer patients' Really? He is? Really?!
Come on, just report the news. Stop trying to push an agenda.
It’s no wonder why the media gets the same ratings as politicians when it comes to honesty and integrity.

by Opinion02122

I've been watching their news since I was a teenager, long before it became WCVB. I always liked their format, and the news people. So, when WCVBNewsCenter5 came out, it was a no-brained to download it. And, I like the notices I get on my iPad to breaking news. It's gone through several updates over the years, but they all had one thing in common, too many ads! I understand that they need to make money, but there are WAY too many ads. Every time I want to read an article, I need to watch an ad! Ridiculous!

I like the weather, too, and being able to check the radar when storms are coming.

But, I don't use it as much as I would because of the ads. I can get the news and weather from other places without all the ads. It's just TOO MUCH for too little.

by Hilchill

Overall, not bad, but the new visual effects are awful. Let me see what stories interest me instead of having to look away while scrolling. Makes me seasick. The “refresh” is super annoying when you want to go back to where you were after reading a story, but it goes all the way to the top, leaving the user to have to scroll all the way down to get back to where they were. Visually, it’s trying to do too much. If it ain’t broke,(previous versions were just fine, thankyouverymuch) don’t fix it. Hoping they’ll go “ retro” and return it to the way it was

by TGrrl222

I’ve been a faithful viewer of WCVB for many years. The news is first rate, the anchors exceptional and it’s always my go to for weather. WCVBNewsCenter5 is generally favorable but the number and the placement of the advertising is off putting. I often get frustrated and just click out. I most often go here to watch the weather forecast video but I’m always forced to watch an ad first. It’s too much. I do wish there was a bit more coverage of national news issues, despite it being a locally based program.

by Ncm%re

I find that when when scrolling down the articles, I’ll tap on a story, read it, tap back to the articles, but instead of taking me back to where I left off, it will take me back to the first article again and I have to scroll down all over again.
Also, they have the same human interest stories every single day for months on end. When I get to the ‘Cat seeing snow’ and ‘squirrels going nuts’.... I know that’s the end of the page.
Come on .... seriously? I am sure that there are different and probably better human interest stories every day. Is it that much of a cost or problem to change it? At least once a month????

by Ads In Reruns

I downloaded WCVBNewsCenter5 because I love Channel 5. Even though we are from the Fall River area, we have been watching its news programs regularly ever since our son went to Boston University in 1995. I like the latest iteration of WCVBNewsCenter5 ( I hated the slide shows of the earlier version), but there is one feature that I find extremely annoying. I wouldn’t mind watching an ad prior to watching a newscast, or watching the commercials on the newscast, but I do not want to watch the same ad repeatedly in one session. When I am watching a newscast, WCVBNewsCenter5 pauses (presumably when the show goes to commercials) but before the next story starts, poof! There’s the same ad. And it’s a long time before I can skip it and get back to the news. Please stop this practice.

by Fan Of Channel 5

In general WCVBNewsCenter5 is very good. One improvement, however, is needed: update the news/stories more often. Some of the general interest stories in particular are on WCVBNewsCenter5 for days on end. Even some of the sports reports refer to games that were played days ago. Please remove/update these items in quick fashion. Otherwise, keep up the great work!

Update: Recently noticed that several news stories are truncated above the first advertisement contained within. Please check this out and correct it.

by Streck27

Got WCVBNewsCenter5 to get weather forecasts and school closings last winter. Liked the weather videos available at top of page and NewsCenter 5 team seems pretty accurate as year went by and I always found them reliable. Some updates where they tried to squeeze in more video ads made WCVBNewsCenter5 choppy and unstable. Seems to have gotten better, but still weord when you click on news report about a terror attack or something bad and first thing u get is a breezy ad for brunch with cocktails.

by Shellymitis

Like the new app however hate that you have to wait a whole 30 seconds before being able to stop an advertisement. I understand the need for these advertisement but other news apps allow you to close them in only 10-15 seconds. Really frustrating when your complete news report is only 30 seconds or so. Hope you can improve this! Just showing an ad for 10 seconds is enough for most people to get it.

by Tdrhdudjdfyjfhtgfg

Thank you for broadcasting the Roy funeral. I respect your decision. Your commitment to spend the money to broadcast this is another reason I am a huge fan of the station. I remember the day you first went on air. As a young geek, I was fascinated with the concept of channel 5 “changing “ Wasn’t WNAC before? The change of networks on the Boston airwaves seemed almost magical to me. How could Channel 5 no longer be CBS? Where does CBS go? Honestly, I was excited to see the new station. Never disappointed with what you do. Keep it up!

by Jack Indabox

I use your app daily to check the weather. Cindy always gives a full and helpful report.
I especially like the graphic of the 5-day changes in temperature and/or dew point. Very helpful.

My only request is that you list the dew point on the “homepage“ of your weather stats. You give the humidity, and that’s fine. But for most people, I feel it’s the dew point temp that indicates how oppressive or “light“ the air feels.

by Sks1031

Does ANYONE actually watch, instead of immediately closing, the advertisement that usually plays after WCVBNewsCenter5 opens? I hope the advertising revenue is worth annoying users every time they open WCVBNewsCenter5 . Minus one star for that advertisement.
News-wise WCVBNewsCenter5 is not bad & relatively easy to navigate. For 40+ years I watched Chet & Nat & Heather & Ed etc. Last year I moved back to Chicago.
It's nice to stay up to date with local news, sports & weather as well as closures & other items and to watch live WCVB video feed.

by Jamwalter

WCVBNewsCenter5 always has great, timely news & weather stories. Although some of the other tabs can have stories that are more informative and not necessarily daily, the Entertainment tab should not be one of them. I like checking WCVBNewsCenter5 out daily, but more often than not, the Entertainment portion has not been updated in several days.

There are times I start to watch the news on television and see a tease that I am interested in watching, but somehow miss it. I wish every story you broadcast could be easily searched (and found) on WCVBNewsCenter5 .

by Expert 6388

I am a native Massachusetts , and channel 5 has always been my favorite new channel and still is , it give you accurate new reporting. All though I left Massachusetts and moved to sunny Arizona 2 years ago I continue to tune in to channel 5 news with WCVBNewsCenter5. WCVBNewsCenter5 is easy to navigate and it gives me alerts. “ I truly appreciate this wonderful app “.
Thank you Channel 5 for your continued Reporting of accurate news and weather.

From
A fame of Channel 5

by PinterestFails

I like the news alerts from WCVBNewsCenter5 , but I can't click on any of them because you never know when an extremely loud ad is going to start playing on my device even though my sound is turned off. At least start out muted if you're going to force your users into an auto played video. I'm not even sure why this is necessary for a news story that doesn't have a video to go with it. You need to do better. These are solved problems. No app should just start broadcasting loudly from a users speakers against their wishes. Respect the audio selections on the users device!

Its come to this - I read the alert from your app and then I go Google for a link to a news source that won't hijack my speakers.

by You're Full Of It

Your app is the same app found all over the country. Except for your piddling amount of local news it can come from any city anywhere. The most maddening thing of all is after reading any particular item one must start from the top AGAIN in order to find where I left off . Rediculous!!

Why do I even bother using your app? Nothing has changed, if I goof in my scrolling I have to start over from the top. Maddening!! You use the same service & subjects I’ve seen on other news sites. How about some local originality.