(Screenshot, Circa)
Circa, the mobile-focused startup that closed in May after it ran out of money, is primed for a return in the new year.
As expected, the site will relaunch under the auspices of Sinclair, which bills itself as “the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company.” Circa’s news app, which was known throughout the industry for breaking stories into their constituent parts in a process called “atomization,” will return in a “re-designed, re-imagined and re-launched” incarnation, according to Sinclair:
Its foundation will be built upon the intellectual property and technology of Circa News, the assets of which Sinclair acquired in August for $800,000. Circa News was a well-known online site admired for its ability to break down news stories to core, easy-to-follow components. In business for three years, Circa News reached 300,000 unique mobile users at its peak.
The new Circa will be captained by John Solomon, who was previously content and business development for The Washington Times, according to Sinclair. The app and an associated site is set to debut in spring 2016.
This news confirms sleuthing undertaken earlier by Nieman Lab’s Joseph Lichterman, who wrote that Circa’s domain name had been registered to Sinclair and surfaced a “coming soon” message from the startup’s website.
