Digital publishing news for February 12, 2014
Ad Week is reporting that Capital NY has tweaked its new paywall. Lucia Moses writes, “Executives at Capital have acknowledged that media could be a tougher sell than politics and policy coverage. Capital originally was offering access to all three verticals for one price, $5,990 a year. But now, it’s allowing people to subscribe to Media Pro only for the lower price of $4,000. (Prices are for up to five users at the subscriber organization.)” A large portion of Capital’s content will be subscriber-only but that percentage of content could change daily. This is a paywall experiment to watch.
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A Fashion Brand in Publishers Robes
Digiday has a new report on fashion brand Frank & Oak and their love affair with creating content. John McDermott writes, “Other than its one brick-and-mortar location in Montreal and the occasional pop-up store, Frank & Oak exists entirely online. The money it saves on overhead is then funneled into a dedicated editorial operation. The company has seven full-time editorial staffers and allocates more than a third (35 percent) of its marketing budget to its editorial operation.”
For Frank & Oak, their magazine is an expression of their company culture. McDermott adds, “To that end, Frank & Oak gives The Edit away for free to small businesses and hotels in major cities in Canada and the U.S. and to select individuals. The last edition printed approximately 50,000 copies on mat paper. The next issue is due out in April and will be met with an event in New York debuting Frank & Oak’s spring line.”
WarGaming Launches Digital Magazine
Cinema Blend is reporting that video game maker WarGaming has launched a digital magazine. Ryan Winslett writes, “Wargaming, best known for its massive battle games like World of Warplanes and recent D.I.C.E. Award recipient, World of Tanks, have put together a digital publication appropriately titled, Let’s Battle. It’s available on smartphones and tablets right this very minute for the low-low cost of exactly zero dollars.” The company is promoting its brand and culture through digital publishing. Wargaming is available on Google Play and iTunes.
Forbes Media Sale Rumors
The NY Post Post has the latest on the Forbes Media sale. Final bids for the company were due in on February 10. Keith J. Kelly writes, “The finalists appear to be China-based Fosun International, which publishes a Chinese edition of the magazine, and Spice International, a diversified Singapore company that is headed by Indian-born billionaire Guo Guangchang.”
Lagardère eBook Sales Are Up
Publishing company Lagardère recently had their 2013 earnings call. They reported that eBooks now account for 10.4% of sales. Talking New Media’s D.B. Hebbard writes, “its U.S. publishing arm recorded a 6 percent jump in revenues. Taking into account all its publishing divisions, Lagardère was able to report that revenue was up 1.9 percent for 2013.”
Mashable Hire a Realtime News Editor
Fish Bowl NY’s Richard Horgan is reporting that Brian Ries has been named Mashable’s first realtime news editor. According to Mashable, “The mission of the real-time news editor is to build on that — to ensure that Mashable’s live news and news-based social content is immediate, urgent and engaging to its audience.”
