“News Corp in June closed its free Times of London website. The Times, the Sunday Times and Britain’s best-selling Sunday tabloid the News of the World — also owned by News Corp — are now available online only to paying subscribers,” Prodhan reports. “News Corp’s British newspaper arm News International said this month the titles had lost up to 90 percent of their online readership and now had 105,000 paying customers, including those who had bought the iPad and Amazon Kindle apps.”
Prodhan reports, “Rupert Murdoch, News Corp’s chief executive and James’s father, has called the iPad a game-changer for news media, and many in the industry agree, thanks to the iPad’s large screen, high resolution and capacity for interactive features.”
“James Murdoch welcomed the opportunity to sell through Apple’s iTunes online store, despite the fact that Apple takes 30 percent of the publisher’s revenue,” Prodhan reports. “‘We go to the iTunes store because it’s frictionless. They charge a percentage but the guy on the newstand and the newsagent charge a percentage, and they don’t even merchandise it properly,’ he told the Monaco Media Forum. ‘The problem with the apps is that they are much more directly cannibalistic of the print products than the website,’ he said. ‘People interact with it much more like they do with the traditional product.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
I’d like to see newscorp try and fali to monopolise the online media market. They already own 1/3 of UK national newspapers, and as if that wasn’t enough bias political indoctrination, they want to seize a chunk of the web market as well!
Die, dinosaurs, die!
Do wish the death of independent news organizations. Otherwise we only have the government controlled news outlets like CNN etc.
There are no “independent” news outlets. All have their own agenda, and always have – subscribers/viewers. It’s about advertising and sales, not accuracy and impartiality.
“iPad apps are cannibalizing physical newspapers”
So it’s a paper shredder, too…?
@Bizlaw
The “always have” part of your post is important. Too many think that there was a “Golden Age” of news reporting, untainted by bias. Ain’t so, and frankly, it isn’t possible as long as human beings write and edit the “news”. Steel101 speaks of indoctrination by Murdoch. Well, if not Murdoch, it’s a Ted Turner instead. Pick your poison people. Just know that if you don’t see it with your own eyes, you will be getting information skewed in some way by somebody—usually unintentional, but sometimes for a very big purpose.
I wouldn’t touch a filthy Murdoch rag anyway.
If iPad-usage is displacing traditional paper-based news, then that is almost the OPPOSITE of “cannibalizing.”
I like TowerTone’s take. MDN’s headline should say
> … iPad apps are “shredding” physical newspapers
A subscription is a subscription.
no kidding….books and magazines will follow shortly. Either publishers get prices inline or SOME KID will do it for them.
Recent data also shows that the iPad is now actually cannibalizing cannibals!
Screw the murdochs. Keep your lousy content. You FAIL!
Save the trees! Go iPad!
Prince James of News Corp blethers: “”The problem with the apps is that they are much more directly cannibalistic of the print products than the website.”
WTF is he chattering on about? King Rupert of News Corp himself pulled the chain on the free websites! HELLO?!
So maybe James didn’t get the memo from daddy? The iPad apps fall perfectly into King Rupert’s money grubbing plans.
Oh I get it! Let Prince James pretend his distress to the serfs (aka customers) while King Rupert overcharges them for net news. Guess I need to brush up on my history of the Dark Ages.
From the article:
“We go to the iTunes store because it’s frictionless. They charge a percentage but the guy on the newstand and the newsagent charge a percentage, and they don’t even merchandise it properly,” he told the Monaco Media Forum.
Ungrateful pr*ck. Newsstands and newsagents are pretty level playing fields – maybe that’s why he doesn’t like them?
I didn’t think we could get worse than Rupe, but Jim must make his father proud…
Well, duh! If I buy an online subscription, why would I buy a stack of paper with the same content?? Only delusional people would expect people to buy both editions.
I wish the iPad would cannibalize the credit card offers I receive in the mail.
“The problem with the apps is that they are much more directly cannibalistic of the print products than the website,” he said. “People interact with it much more like they do with the traditional product.”
Uh, isn’t that the point? To replace the dwindling sales of the print products?
The name “News Corp” is an oxymoron.
It’s true! I just saw Flipboard eating The New York Times! A horrible site! Oh the humanity!
Well as long as I can read fox news on my iPad I’m good.
The juxtaposition of ‘fox’ and ‘news’ is an oxymoron.
@ 8^P
The use of juxtapose and oxymoron was tautologous.
@ skylark
One good modus ponens deserves another.
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On a somewhat related note, I had my first look at a B&N Nook the other day. Pretty lame device. The software was slow, unresponsive, and not at all intuitive. It’s based on Android. My first thought was how awkward it felt compared to the iPads I’ve used, and of course to my iPhone.