Fango. What might be mistaken as the name of some bizarre exotic fruit is actually the title of Channel Seven’s social media app, one it spruiks with undying fervour. Said incessant promotion has done it good, with the 500,000 download mark reached and more importantly, growing interest from other networks to create their own versions. If reports are to be believed, Nine’s take might be with us as soon as Tuesday.
Citing “industry sources”, The Australian believes Nine will announce a Fango competitor tomorrow as part of a “breakfast event”. No name is provided for the app, which will only be available for tablets to begin with. However, it will come with a full TV guide, a feature missing from Seven’s Fango.
Fango may have clocked over 500,000 downloads, but it’s only managed three-star ratings on both the App Store and Google Play. Going by the latter’s download figures, the iOS version appears more popular, with Android accounting for 50,000, at most.
Downloads are also a bit of a pointless metric if no one is actually using the app. Some digging around by TweeVee TV suggests Fango has around 600 daily active users, going by Facebook’s Graph API. It’s a decent number and definitely a better guide for the app’s success.
When I think of Fango, all I hear is Bruce McAvaney’s voice in my head, giving it the hard sell during the Australian Open. I’m barely interested in local television as it is, with Insight and Q&A my usual viewing choices. Even then, I’m certainly not engaged enough to fire up an app and share my thoughts.
Any regular Fango users here? Would you be willing to jump between individual apps for each station to get your social media fix? Frankly, it sounds like a chore.