Tablets Helps Grow Subscription Revenues for Consumer Magazines

While 2012 may have been dubbed the Year of the Paywall for news sites, 2013 is shaping up to be the Year of the

While 2012 may have been dubbed the Year of the Paywall for news sites, 2013 is shaping up to be the Year of the Tablet for consumer magazines.

The tablet provides the ideal content consumption experience for many consumers — allowing them to lean-back and/or read while commuting, traveling, or other places without Wi-Fi access. Thus, while the consumer magazine niche has been the most reticent in embracing digital content distribution, it also has the most to gain from embracing tablet distribution.

Already, a number of magazines and their parent companies have seen some success with paid subscription apps (see our Case Study on Popular Science). Now New York Magazine is getting in on the paid subscription app trend by relaunching its current iPad app. The new app is also supposed to include digital enhancements. (Note: Consumer magazines should be careful with innovation. While some digital enhancements are great, many publications have found that readers looking for a good read want to read, not watch, their content.)

And Next Issue — the buffet-style subscription service for consumer magazines — recently announced that its working with Microsoft to offer magazines on the new Surface tablet. Wisely, Next Issue is allowing a single subscription to be authenticated over five devices – allowing subscribers to sync their reading experiences. The company is also working on integrating social sharing and “snipping” features so that readers can snip and save articles, much like they used to be able to do in print.

And finally, while a little outside the magazine niche, Marvel Comics recently launched Marvel Unlimited — a subscription-based iOS app that lets iPad and iPhone users access to 13,000 comics, published over the company’s 70-year history. Plans are priced at $10/month or $60/year, and users can get a free trial. And following our recommended best practice, Marvel is requiring users sign up for the app outside of the app store, avoiding Apple’s heft 30% cut.

Consumer publications take note. If you’re limiting your digital content distribution to your website, you may be publishing on the “AM dial” of Internet-enabled platforms in a few years time.

Image (c) meehanphotos via Flickr.

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