Newsweek has been around for over 80 years. Nonetheless, last years have been especially difficult for the magazine, with annual losses reaching $40M, and subscriptions shrinking from over 3M in 2001 to only 1.6M in 2011. Acquisition of The Daily Beast to reach broader audience on-line didn’t bring expected results; nonetheless, the company recently decided to go even further and become all-digital in the US.
This is how Tina Brown, magazine’s CEO, explains thit step.
Newsweek assumes that the number of tablet user will keep growing as fast as in recent years when it mushroomed from 13 in 2010 to estimated 70 million by the end of this year in the US alone, and that advertising will keep fluctuating from printed media to the Internet. According to Ms. Brown going all online is inevitable.
It’s true that the early bird catches the worm, and certainly press is heading towards digital future. However, it’s difficult to tell if it is the right moment for the new, exclusively online business model for press as still less than 30% of Americans own tablets. One is sure: cutting printing and distribution costs will help to reduce the losses (if readers prove loyal), which will help company’s operational efficiency; this step is not enough though to be called a new business strategy.
Want to know more?
After 80 years in print, the newsmagazine adopts an all-digital format: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/18/a-turn-of-the-page-for-newsweek.html
Newsweek had unique troubles as industry recovers: http://www.cnbc.com/id/49472740
At Newsweek, Ending Print and a Blend of Two Styles: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/newsweek-will-cease-print-publication-at-end-of-year/#h[DhbDhb]