CNN, the news network, launches a free international news app for the iPhone in a sign that media companies are in search of effective business models to profit from content.

The company's previous app, which was for the iPhone and iPod Touch, costs users in US $1.99. The new app will be funded through advertising revenue, similar to its rival app from BBC News.

Louis Gump, CNN's president of mobile, says that arriving at the decision to offer the app for free was not easy. In an interview with the Sunday Morning Herald, he says, "If only you knew the amount of time that had gone into this singular topic... We looked at it from a variety of angles and we listened to our international team ... outside the US the CNN brand has different levels of exposure and we feel the reach that we have can be significantly broadened through this app."

Gump adds that over time a paid version of the app with added functions could be introduced. The app will offer only regional news and access to videos of late breaking news would be disabled.