Variety: CNN Extends John King’s ‘Magic Wall’ Election Map to App Users, So Now You Can Obsess Over Live Results Like a Pro

Story from Variety:

Political junkies will be able to pinch and zoom on real-time election results in CNN‘s app — just like John King does on TV using the news network’s famous “Magic Wall” — on election night and beyond.

CNN’s iconic Magic Wall election map, which debuted back in 2008, is now available on its native iOS and Android apps for phone and tablet devices. As polls close on Election Day, starting at 6 p.m. ET on Nov. 5, the Magic Wall in the CNN app will display live results in every state, district and county across more than 500 congressional, gubernatorial and presidential races. The app’s new section also will include the latest vote counts, race projections and analysis.

CNN is “turbocharging” its Magic Wall advancements with the launch of the app version, said VP and political director David Chalian. It “puts all of those critical real-time results and crucial historical and political context directly in the hands of every single user,” he said. “Now you can follow along with your own Magic Wall as you watch John King tracking the votes.”

CNN’s app lets users access the Magic Wall via a new icon located in the bottom tab bar. The app can send alert notifications, such as when battleground states in the U.S. presidential election are called for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. The digital Magic Wall also provides vertical video clips and articles related to national and state-level political stories from CNN.

“I got a bigger one,” King, CNN’s chief national correspondent, says in an explainer video about the app’s Magic Wall feature. “But this is just as powerful, and you got it at home.”

Leading up to election day, CNN app users can see a snapshot of the Electoral College landscape with the “Road to 270” map. The digital Magic Wall also lets users explore historical election results for president, Senate, House and governor races from 2020 and 2022 on a national, state, district and county level (as well as data from the 2016 presidential election).

CNN is counting on high interest in the U.S. presidential contest to drive usage of the Magic Wall. Polls currently show very tight races between Harris and Trump in seven swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — which will likely determine the outcome.

The app’s Magic Wall is ad-supported, but it is not locked behind a paywall and there’s no registration requirement. (The featured sponsor is Oura, the company that sells a “smart ring” that monitors users’ sleep, fitness and stress for wellness.) “Our North Star here is driving engagement,” said Manav Tanneeru, senior director of product management at CNN. “We didn’t want any roadblocks. We want as many people as possible to have access to the CNN Magic Wall because this might be one of the most critical elections in U.S. history.”

Why hasn’t CNN introduced such an interactive Magic Wall until now? “We needed the technology [in devices] to catch up to be able to deliver this immersive experience,” Tanneeru said. “We’re incorporating video, articles and data visualizations to create this unified experience.”

Note that the CNN Magic Wall is not available on the web. That’s because “we wanted a tactile experience, where users could literally zoom in with their fingers, so they can feel like John King at home,” said Tanneeru. That said, CNN does offer an interactive Electoral College map for subscribers that lets them build their own projections for the U.S. presidential race.