News Corp confirms closure of mX app

James McGrath
By James McGrath | 29 May 2015
 

While the future of the mX app was up in the air as recently as last night, this morning a News Corp spokesperson has confirmed the closure of the app from June 12, the same day as the last newspaper edition.

Back in March News Corp made the decision to rebrand the newspaper and the commuter app, with the app relying solely on native advertising opportunities to fit into an 'endless scroll' environment.

AdNews understands while the vast majority of staff associated with the mX project were taken aback by the news of the closure, which could affect 30 editorial staff, some senior figures did have prior knowledge of the closure.

The mX app was seen internally as the only bonafide social platform in the group courtesy of its 'talk' function, where other commuters can communicate with each other.

Publisher of mX Tamara Oppen previously told AdNews that this section was essentially “Tinder on steroids”.

“One of the most exciting features is that one of our most popular sections Talk will be live. The Talk section has Lost in Love, Overheard and Here's Looking at You. When we do research in focus groups we constantly find that it's our most popular section," Oppen said.

“So now in the app you'll be able to post comments in real-time - people are calling it Tinder on steroids. They're all eager to see it. When they were actually testing it one guy said: 'I'm going to have to update my data plan because I'm going to be on it all the time.”

Internally, it is thought the mX app was seen as a test/fail environment in the broader group, with staff toying with ideas for the app ranging from use of beacon technology at train stations to linkage with wearable devices.

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