Sunday 6 December 2009

Five media giants in content control move


Five of the world’s biggest publishers are preparing to launch a joint venture this week aimed at regaining control of their content on the new generation of online reading devices, the Sunday Times reports today.
News Corp, publisher of the Sunday Times, has joined Time Inc, Condé Nast, Hearst and Meredith in the venture.
With a new generation of electronic readers about to hit the market, the publishers are keen to gain a tighter hold on their content.
The Sunday Times says: "Publishers have clashed with Amazon, maker of the best-selling Kindle electronic reader. It takes a stiff 70% cut of Kindle Store revenue and retains all the information about customers.
"Rivals to Kindle are proliferating. Apple is rumoured to be preparing to launch a tablet device that can be used as an ereader, a move that could see magazines and newspapers added to the Apple iTunes store."
The new partnership is working on advertising strategies and subscription models to ensure the next generation of online readers are more profitable for publishers than the current ones.

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