Time Inc. and Apple both announced Wednesday that they had reached an agreement to finally bring all of Time's magazines to Apple's digital newsstand. Those magazines include 3 of the 5 most popular magazines based on revenue in 2011; People, Sports Illustrated, and Time, in addition to other popular magazines like Entertainment Weekly.
The long overdue agreement highlights both the change in leadership and direction at Time, and the easing of policies by Apple on companies selling content through their digital services.
Recently appointed Time CEO Laura Lang indicated the move to get Time's magazines on Apple's newsstands was one of her top priorities after taking over as CEO.
"This has been a priority for me. When I joined Time Inc., one of the things that was important to me was ensuring that our content is where consumers want to read it" she said in an interview with AdAge.
Time initially balked at selling their magazines through Apple's App Store, even as their main publishing rivals eagerly jumped aboard the App train. Chief concerns at the time included Apple's control over pricing and commission fees, and their refusal to release subscriber data to publishers, which help them customize ads and generate more revenue.
"What I can say is that right now I'm very comfortable that we have a partnership with Apple that will give our readers a good experience and give Time Inc. as a publisher the opportunity to provide those experiences" said Lang, when asked about those initial concerns at Time, and whether they had been completely addressed by Apple.
The continuing loss of print advertising revenue no doubt made the decision an easier one for Time as well, who experienced a first quarter advertising revenue decline of 5%.
For Apple, the easing of restrictions and acquisition of additional content for the App Store are important steps given the increasing competition the company is facing from Amazon's Kindle e-reader, which sells magazine subscriptions, and Google's Android software. It also helps continue the process of diversifying an App Store that has largely been dominated by games, something Apple would like to see more balanced in the future with news, videos, and other content.
