CHUM TV’s Pulse24.com has been rebranded as Citynews.ca and now boasts broadband video delivery, user-generated content features, real-time feeds and blogs. The site will use video ads (a campaign for Fallsview Casino launched yesterday), in addition to banners and skyscrapers. Stephen Hurlbut, VP of news programming, City TV and VP/GM of CP24 says ‘the objective for the new site is to create a stronger, more robust experience [for the user]. We want to keep the user engaged, and give them the ability to dig deeper.’
As such, the site’s new broadband-enabled News Director feature allows visitors to program their own newscast by creating playlists based on individual interests. It’s Your Story, an interface for wannabe citizen journalists, allows folks to upload stories and photos to the site, contributing to the content. Citynews.ca also boasts real-time newsfeeds and blogs. Hurlbut adds that the strategy behind the name change is to expand the City News brand beyond TV. The same strategy is being applied in the Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver markets as well. Pulse24.com was CHUM’s number two site after MuchMusic.com. According to Comscore MediaMetrix, the site receives approximately 500,000 unique monthly visitors, with 14 million page views per month.
