Do digital newsstands deliver?

Two years after its launch, the iOS newsstand is still way ahead of its competition. But emerging newsstands are growing at different rates in different markets and savvy publishers are stacking their shelves high, too. Ahead of FIPP’s new Digital Newsstand Forum in May, Karen Taylor reports.

Digital newsstands are gaining ground, roughly in-line with the global market’s growth in new devices and their adoption by different demographics in different regions. Already many of the names seem familiar – Zinio, Pocketmags, Magzster, Nook, Next Issue – but there are others springing up with various propositions for the consumer and publisher. Little surprise that both are shopping around, ensuring they don’t keep all their apples in one basket.

The big Apple itself is like a huge warehouse, getting bigger and bigger by the second. When it launched in October 2011, it stocked 200 magazines. Now there are 8,000 and counting, and it’s getting increasingly hard to get your magazine noticed on the crowded iOS newsstand.

But, essentially, it is early days for publishers and the newsstands. Business models vary from single sales to monthly ‘all you can eat’ deals, whereby publishers get paid on a points system. No one appears to have found the best solution yet and it may be a while before one emerges and the market sees consolidation. In the meantime, publishers and their newsstands give us a store guide…

Read the rest of this article in the latest edition of Magazine World
Digital edition of Magazine World for desktop users

Tablet edition of Magazine World for mobile/tablet users

Your first step to joining FIPP's global community of media leaders

Sign up to FIPP World x