NBC News: Breaking & US News

News & Magazines

6.2~~/10~~

Our score

★ 4.4 Google Play·5M+ installs

Reviewed by Editorial Team, ScoredApps editorial · updated 2026-10-02

Screenshots

Watch tab with the live NBC News NOW player, a banner offering limited ads and exclusive content, and a Latest Briefings row marked For Subscribers

Today's Briefings row of short subscriber-only video clips with running times, above a world news headline in the home feed

Listen tab with podcast tiles for Here is the Scoop, The Drink With Kate Show, Dateline, TODAY, Nightly News and Meet the Press

Two Trending home screen widgets with NBC News headlines and thumbnail photos on an iPhone

Discover tab with a Search NBC News bar and tiles for Latest News, Nightly News, Dateline and Meet the Press

About NBC News: Breaking & US News

NBC News Digital's app pairs a headline feed with NBC News NOW, a free 24/7 streaming channel that needs no cable login, plus Watch and Listen tabs for full episodes, podcasts and live audio. A free account adds narrated articles, saved stories and local weather by ZIP code. The catch arrived with the December 2025 subscription: many articles and video briefings are now subscriber-only, and $5.99 a month removes most ads, not all.

App information

DeveloperNBC News Digital, LLC

Version14.2.0 (Android) · 14.3.0 (iOS)

Size64 MB (Android) · 106 MB (iOS)

Price / In-appFree

Contains adsYes

In-app purchasesYes

Content rating13+

Requires (Android)Android 8.1+

Requires (iOS)iOS 18.0+

Offline modeNone listed; subscription terms allow caching but no downloads

Interface languagesEN

Store rating (Google Play)4.4 from 109,660 ratings

Installs5M+

Updated by developer2026-09-09

Data checked2026-10-01

Specs come from the official store listings and were last checked on 2026-10-01. Developers change pricing and requirements — check the store page before installing.

NBC News App Review: Free 24/7 Stream, Paywalled Stories

NBC News NOW Without a Cable Login: What Stays Free

NBC News NOW, the network's 24/7 streaming channel, plays free in the app with no TV provider sign-in. NBC's help center adds a caveat: the channel is not a feed of the NBC broadcast network, which streams on NBC.com behind a pay TV login. MSNBC, rebranded MS NOW under Versant, no longer plays in NBC apps. Free articles and videos remain, and since August 2026 a free registered account unlocks narrated articles, a saved-stories library and local headlines and weather by ZIP code. Of the 150 newest English Google Play reviews, posted July 17 to September 30, 2026, 97 give one or two stars, and 76 of those mention paywalls or subscriptions.

Watch and Listen Tabs: 21 Extra Live Streams and US-Only Live Audio

The Watch and Listen tabs arrived in March 2026. Watch opens on the NBC News NOW player, followed by video briefings, many stamped For Subscribers, and subscriber full episodes of Nightly News, Dateline and Meet the Press. The subscription's launch notes add 21 more live streams from NBC local news, Telemundo, sports, Dateline and Sky News, with limited ad breaks. Listen pairs the podcast catalog with live audio, which NBC's help center restricts to US territories. A swipeable Shorts tab arrived in June 2025. Reviewers in June and July 2026 said a video window autoplays mid-feed and the live player's close button failed to stop audio.

$5.99 a Month: Which Ads the NBC News Subscription Removes

The subscription costs $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year plus tax, sold in the app or on NBCNews.com; US prices may change. NBC's help center lists ad-free podcasts, full episodes and the NBC News NOW stream, but local livestreams such as NBC New York keep their ads, and the sales page promises fewer ad interruptions rather than none. The web can be cheaper: until November 5, 2026, first-time subscribers get 25% off the first annual year through a web-only offer. Charges are nonrefundable, cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and deleting an NBCUniversal account does not cancel the plan. A paying reviewer in September 2026 still saw subscribe prompts.

Alerts, Ads and Data: What Data Safety and Apple's Label Disclose

Breaking-news alerts come as a single switch: reviewers in December 2025 and August 2026 said categories such as sports cannot be muted, and the in-app notification setting opens phone settings; others got alerts labeled For Subscribers Only. Google Play's Data safety section says device IDs are shared for advertising and analytics, and declares that data isn't encrypted in transit and can't be deleted, although NBC's help center points US users to an NBCUniversal deletion portal. Apple's label lists identifiers and usage data as used for tracking. The app embeds Nielsen measurement software, and NBCUniversal's privacy policy, updated November 17, 2025, covers scrolling and keystroke activity; Your Privacy Choices in app settings is the opt-out.

Pros

NBC News NOW streams free around the clock with no cable login
Free account adds narrated articles, saved stories and ZIP-code local weather
Subscription at $5.99 monthly undercuts CNN All Access at $6.99
Subscribers get ad-free NBC News NOW, podcasts and full episodes
Listen tab combines the podcast catalog with live audio inside the US
Fifteen iOS updates shipped between January and September 2026

Cons

Many articles and video briefings are now marked subscriber-only
Reviewers say alerts can't be filtered by topic and some arrive subscriber-only
Local livestreams keep ads for paying subscribers, and charges are nonrefundable
Play Data safety declares no encryption in transit and no deletion option

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Verdict

NBC News earns 6.2 for keeping a 24/7 stream free without a cable login and for a subscription that, at $5.99 a month, costs less than CNN's All Access, offset by a growing list of subscriber-only stories, alerts that reviewers say cannot be filtered by topic and weak privacy declarations on Google Play. Take it if you want free live news video or ad-free NBC podcasts. Skip it if you mainly read articles and won't pay, or if topic-level alert control matters.

Core function7.0Free 24/7 NBC News NOW plus Watch and Listen tabs, but many articles now sit behind the subscription.

Ease of use6.5Clear Watch, Listen and Discover tabs; reviewers say alerts can't be filtered by topic and video autoplays.

Monetisation5.5$5.99 monthly removes most ads, yet local streams keep ads, charges are nonrefundable and paywall complaints dominate reviews.

Performance6.5Fifteen iOS releases in 2026, but NBC keeps a help article for loading failures and reviewers mention slowdowns.

Privacy & permissions5.0Device IDs shared for advertising, no in-transit encryption or deletion declared on Play, keystroke data covered by policy.

6.2out of 10 · weighted average of the five scores above

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Frequently asked questions

Is the NBC News app free?

Mostly. The download costs nothing, NBC News NOW streams free 24/7, and NBC's help center says free articles and videos remain. Stories and video briefings marked for subscribers are locked, and recent Google Play reviews say many articles fall into that group. A free account adds narrated articles, saved stories and local weather by ZIP code.

Do I need a cable login to watch NBC News NOW in the app?

No. NBC News NOW plays free in the app without a TV provider sign-in, and subscribers watch it without ads. It is a separate channel, not the NBC broadcast network; NBC's help center sends viewers to NBC.com and a pay TV login for that stream. MSNBC, now MS NOW under Versant, no longer plays in NBC apps.

How much is an NBC News subscription?

$5.99 a month or $59.99 a year plus tax, bought in the app or on NBCNews.com. Until November 5, 2026, first-time subscribers can take 25% off the first annual year through a web-only offer. The plan removes ads from podcasts, full episodes and NBC News NOW, while local livestreams keep ads. US prices; they may change.

How do I cancel my NBC News subscription on Android?

Open Google Play, then Payments & subscriptions, Subscriptions and NBC News. Plans bought on NBCNews.com are cancelled under Profile, Subscription, Cancel Plan. Access continues to the end of the billing period with no refund for unused time, and deleting your account does not cancel the plan. Data deletion requests go through NBCUniversal's Individual Rights Request portal.

What are the best alternatives to the NBC News app?

CNN, Fox News and AP News cover the same breaking stories. CNN offers a five-minute live preview, then needs a pay TV login or All Access at $6.99 a month. Fox News requires a pay TV login for its live channel and sells nothing in the app. AP News lists no in-app purchases on Google Play.