Beach-goers this summer may have noticed that their favorite magazines -- from Time to Vanity Fair to Esquire -- have shiny new tablet editions.
Magazine publishers are betting heavily on the tablet platform, aggressively enticing new customers and existing subscribers to embrace their digital versions.
Hearst and Conde Nast both struck deals with Apple in May, permitting consumers to subscribe through the iTunes Store -- deals that closely followed redesigned apps from the likes of GQ and Vanity Fair.
Also read: Time Inc. Will Launch Tablet Editions for Every Magazine by Year's End
Two months later, Time made its biggest tablet-related news to date, announcing it would release tablet editions for the remaining 17 of its 21 titles. Time had already released editions for its four most popular titles, Sports Illustrated, Time, Fortune and People.
“Conde Nast and the others are looking at the tablet market as the promised land that will deliver them from the plight that they are going through in print and online,” said Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analytics, a research and consulting firm.
But the revenue for iPad apps has yet to materialize. Neither Conde Nast, nor Time nor Hearst has provided figures for what they're making off their iPad apps.
They have released subscription numbers, which, while growing, remain miniscule. For example, Conde Nast reported 242,000 digital customers in the six weeks since introducing iPad subscriptions, but that still makes up just 1.3 percent of its total print circulation.
Still, while publishers refuse to give up on the slumping print editions, they clearly see the tablet as the future.
Also read: Condé Nast: Every Magazine Will Have a Digital Edition by End of 2011
“While nascent, it’s clear that tablet editions will play an increasingly important role in our overall business moving forward,” a Conde Nast spokesperson said.
Each of the major publishers continues to push more tablet editions into the market and make deals with various tablet makers.
Apple remains the king of the tablet market, and much of the enthusiasm stems from its decision in February to allow direct subscriptions through the iPad rather than limiting purchases to individual issues.
Even with Apple’s new rules, the publishers had previously been wary of striking a deal with Apple because it demands a 30 percent take on all apps sold in its iTunes store.
Conde Nast and Hearst eventually relented -- hence those subscription agreements in May -- but Time has maintained a more limited relationship so as to control more of its revenue and subscriber information.
“What we know is that the No. 1 complaint -- at least as far as magazines inside the Apple Store -- is that they couldn’t get the magazines they love,” said Avi Zimak, advertising director for Hearst Tablet Media. “They had to pay cover price on every single issue.
