Alabama's 42 vs Talk 99.5
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Alabama's 42
Stay informed with local news and developing stories. Get in-depth journalism, weather updates, and real-time traffic information. Watch videos and read articles about your community, and receive breaking news alerts.
- Top local news stories
- Real-time developing stories
- Video reports from reporters
- In-depth community journalism
- Weather updates and alerts
- Interactive radar map
- Breaking news notifications
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News has never been more local than in the palm of your hand. The CBS 42 News mobile app brings you all the top stories from our daily broadcasts, as well as stories developing in real time. CBS 42 News delivers in-depth, community-first journalism, along with Storm Team weather updates and real-time traffic. With the revamped CBS 42 News app, you're getting "Local Coverage You Can Count On" from Central Alabama's top trusted news team. FEATURES: • Watch video of your trusted reporters on the scene, and read revealing articles on what's going on in your community. • Plan your day and week with detailed weather conditions, live alerts of severe conditions, and an interactive radar map. • Optional alerts on breaking news keep you in the know.
Talk 99.5
Stay informed with real-time news, engaging conversations, and breaking stories. This application delivers the latest updates and discussions from Birmingham.
- Real-time news updates
- Best conversation
- Breaking stories
- Live audio streaming
- Local Birmingham content
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Talk 99.5 is Birmingham's home for the latest news, best conversation, and breaking stories in real time
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Alabama's 42 at 4.7 against Talk 99.5's 2.9. Alabama's 42 also leads on ratings volume (1.4K vs 9) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Alabama's 42 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Alabama's 42 has 1.4K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of Alabama's 42's written reviews are positive against 20% of Talk 99.5's.
Alabama's 42 ships an update every 6 weeks, Talk 99.5 every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Alabama's 42 | Talk 99.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.4K ratings) — better | 2.9 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.6% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.4K — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LIN Television Corporation | Cumulus Media |
Customer experience
Alabama's 42
Talk 99.5
Bugs and requests
Alabama's 42
Reported bugs
4 issues- Text jumping around in articles
- Notification settings not working properly
- In-app settings not accessible
- Inability to save articles for later reading
Requested features
4 requests- Improve accessibility for VoiceOver users
- Provide more reliable live stream and notifications
- Redesign the UI for better navigation and readability
- Implement a robust search function to find old articles
Talk 99.5
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Alabama's 42
No in-app purchases
Talk 99.5
No in-app purchases
