US magazine publishers launch digital newsstand

US magazine and newspaper publishers teamed up on Tuesday to launch a digital newsstand for the electronic devices of the future.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US magazine and newspaper publishers Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp. and Time Inc. teamed up on Tuesday to launch a digital newsstand for the electronic devices of the future.

The joint venture, which has been described as an "iTunes for magazines," aims to develop a common format for presenting newspapers and magazines on portable devices ranging from smartphones to electronic readers to laptops.

The digital platform will offer advertising opportunities and be open to other publishers who want to offer their content, the five major publishers, who claim an audience of 144 million readers, said in a joint statement.

E-readers currently on the market such as Amazon's popular Kindle do not support advertising and are tailored more to e-books than periodicals.

Advertisers and readers have generally been underwhelmed by the presentation of newspapers and magazines on the Kindle and other black-and-white units and the consortium is looking more toward dynamic devices of the future.

Forrester Research estimates that some 10 million e-readers will be sold in the United States by the end of 2010.

Time Inc. last week lifted the curtain on a prototype of a tablet computer and released a YouTube video featuring an issue of one of its most popular magazines, Sports Illustrated, with video and full-color images and graphics.

The video is available at youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk

The consortium, in their statement, said publishers "will derive revenue from content and advertising sales, as well as from print subscriptions.

"In addition to entirely new magazine and newspaper reading experiences, content selections may ultimately include books, comic books, blogs and other media," they said.

Time executive John Squires, who is serving as interim managing director of the venture, said that once purchased, the "content will be 'unlocked' for consumers to enjoy anywhere, anytime, on any platform.

"For the consumer, this digital initiative will provide access to an extraordinary selection of engaging content products, all customized for easy download on the device of their choice, including smartphones, e-readers and laptops," he said.

Hearst last week separately announced plans to launch a digital newsstand, advertising service and e-reader for newspapers and magazines called "Skiff."

"The Kindle's a closed system," Skiff president Gilbert Fuchsberg told AFP, adding that "publishers are looking for good alternatives, an alternative eco-system."

Fuchsberg also said he expects color e-readers to be on the market before the end of 2010.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of consortium partner News Corp., has been an outspoken critic of the Kindle, saying that while newspapers will be entirely electronic one day he did not like reading one on the Amazon device.

The joint venture comes as US magazines and newspapers, faced with declining print circulation and print advertising revenue, are looking to build a business model for the digital future.

Besides flagship Time and Sports Illustrated, Time Inc. publishes Fortune, People and other magazines.

Conde Nast owns The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Vogue while Hearst publishes the San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle newspapers and Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping magazines.

Meredith publications include Better Homes, Family Circle, Fitness, Parents and other magazines while News Corp. properties include The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Times of London, The Australian and other newspapers.