2011

2011

Many businesses looking to enter the European market believe that it can be treated as one audience, with one website that targets all residents. But this is a mistake.

One problem is that, unlike in the U.S. where English is the main language, there are 200 different languages to contend with in Europe! But there's much more to worry about than language.

Being the continent with one of the oldest civilizations, there lies a lot of history in Europe. And that history is important for you to keep in mind when optimizing for Europe.

Full article: http://searchenginewatch.com/3641769

2011

New York Times Co. will charge readers less than $20 a month for full access to its namesake newspaper on the Web when the company introduces its paid service, a person familiar with the matter said.

The price has been set at less than the $19.99 that customers pay for a New York Times subscription on Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle reader, said the person, who declined to be identified because the price hasn’t been made public yet. Last month, Scott Heekin-Canedy, president of the New York Times, said the price would be comparable to the Kindle subscription.

Times Co. and other newspaper publishers are trying to determine how much of their online content should remain free, how much can be moved behind a paywall, and how much to charge for access. The companies are seeking new revenue sources as print advertising and circulation revenue decline amid competition from Internet publications.

Full article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-20/new-york-times-said-to-charge-less-than-20-a-month-for-access-to-website.html

2011

The iPad continues to frustrate magazine publishers who counted on the Apple tablet as a digital lifeline for their ailing traditional businesses. A key sticking point has been Apple's reluctance to allow publishers like Hearst and Conde Nast charge for subscriptions for iPad editions of their titles, as they do offline.

A New York Times story today highlights that publishers feel having to charge on an individual basis (typically at the same cost as a print copy) is holding back their progress in attracting readers to the iPad. Only a select few publications, such as The Economist and News Corp.'s soon-to-launch iPad-only newspaper, The Daily, are able to sell their apps on a subscription basis.

Underscoring the unwillingness to plunk down $5 for a magazine issue in the App Store, a new study by research firm Knowledge Networks appearing in Ad Age found 86% of iPad owners said they would be willing to accept ads to access free content such as TV shows and magazine or newspaper articles. Only 13% said they were willing to pay any fee for iPad content, and only an extra $2.60 on average.

Full article:http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=143098&nid=122736

2011

The frustration that the country’s magazine and newspaper publishers feel toward Apple can sound a lot like a variation on the old relationship gripe, “can’t live with ’em, may get left behind without ’em.”

Since Apple introduced the iPad last year, publishers have poured millions of dollars into apps in the hopes that the device could revolutionize the industry by changing the way magazines are read and sold to consumers.

But at the same time, the industry is discovering a lesson already learned by music labels and Hollywood studios: Apple may offer new opportunities with its devices, but it exacts a heavy toll. Magazine publishers argue in particular that limiting magazine sales on the iPad to single issues (except in a handful of cases) has hamstrung publishers from fully capitalizing on a new and lucrative business model.

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/business/media/17apple.html?_r=1