NYC Media vs Thirteen Explore
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NYC Media
This official broadcast network informs, educates, and entertains New Yorkers. Discover the city's diverse people, neighborhoods, government services, and attractions through its media productions.
- Informative content about NYC
- Educational programming
- Entertainment for New Yorkers
- Highlights city services
- Showcases attractions and activities
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NYC Media is the official broadcast network and media production group of the City of New York. As a network, NYC Media's goals are to inform, educate, and entertain New Yorkers about the City's diverse people and neighborhoods, government, services, attractions, and activities.
Thirteen Explore
Stream full episodes of popular PBS and THIRTEEN programs, including Masterpiece, Nature, and Frontline, directly to your iPhone and iPad. Access New York-centric shows and livestream THIRTEEN if you're in the NYC metro area. Cast content to your TV using Apple TV and Chromecast.
- Stream full episodes
- Masterpiece, Nature, Frontline
- New York-centric shows
- Livestream THIRTEEN (NYC)
- Cast to TV
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Your favorite THIRTEEN and PBS programs like Masterpiece, Nature and Frontline - streamed right to your iPhone and iPad! THIRTEEN Explore includes: * Full episodes from programs such as Masterpiece, American Masters, PBS NewsHour, Great Performances, Nature, NOVA, Antiques Roadshow and Frontline * New York-centric shows like NYC-ARTS, MetroFocus, Treasures of New York and NJTV News * Stream via Apple TV and Chromecast to your TV * Livestream THIRTEEN (must be in the NYC metropolitan area)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: NYC Media at none against Thirteen Explore's shown. NYC Media also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 70%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Thirteen Explore's advantage is ratings volume (5.8K vs 8). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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.
NYC Media holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thirteen Explore has 5.8K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of NYC Media's written reviews are positive against 70% of Thirteen Explore's.
NYC Media ships an update every 4 months, Thirteen Explore every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NYC Media | Thirteen Explore |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better | 4.8 (5.8K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews — better | 69.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 5.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Department of Information Technology And Telecomm | Thirteen/WNET |
Customer experience
NYC Media
Thirteen Explore
Bugs and requests
NYC Media
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Thirteen Explore
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login screen freezes or doesn't work
- Playback issues, such as app crashing or getting kicked out
- Incompatibility with certain devices (e.g., Firestick)
Requested features
3 requests- Add episode tracking and resume playback functionality
- Improve Chromecast support with features like closed captions
- Expand Passport content library to include more archived shows
In-app purchases
NYC Media
No in-app purchases
Thirteen Explore
No in-app purchases
