New Media Age reported that Sony is likely to soon include third-party advertising opportunities on its Sony Reader as more publishers come on board. The devices is claimed to have sold over 300,000 units globally and today is seen by many as the opponent to Kindle and outside the US its often viewed as the only offer and certainly the only device that can render DRM epub today. However, as other devices adopt the Adobe ACS4 toolkit it position as the only epub device will soon be negated.
So why adverts and how will they appear? Will Sony discount the device in line with the ad revenues expected or publishers use it as a sampler similar to the Kindle? Can we get an ad free device at a premium? Are ads coming to accomadate newspapers, magazines and a larger reader – afterall Kindle has 3 models and Sony only has two. Are ads part of a larger programme to be wireless and therefore offer the ability to not only connect without the Adobe Editions mothership but also transact direct from the Sony reader?
Steve Haber, president of Sony Electronics’ digital reading business division, is reported “Advertising is not part of the business model at the moment but I would imagine that when it comes to periodicals, newspapers and magazines, those businesses are built around the advertising model so I would imagine it going in that direction.”
So what does the ereader want to be when it grows up?
Perhaps it can take on some of the business that Craiglist is now turning away. The US classified ads website says it will remove its erotic services category. Apparently, it promotes prostitution and prostitutes and clients use the site for illegal sexual encounters.
Several law enforcement agencies across the US have threatened the management of Craigslist with prosecution and last November Craigslist announced a deal with 40 state attorneys general that said it would charge for erotic services ads and require advertisers to use a credit card for payment.
In place will be a new closely monitored adult services section.
Showing posts with label advertising revenues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advertising revenues. Show all posts
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Google News Adds Ads
Google have started to run small text ads on the pages of its Google News service. This again raises the advertising debate between Google and the newspaper sector. Since it began, some six years ago, Google has not placed ads on Google News. This has helped calm newspapers who believed that Google would build a competing news site based on their own material.
Google News automatically collects headlines and news from over 4,500 news sites and links users to the original articles on those sites. This drives significant traffic to many news sites. Google has maintained that its use of headlines and snippets was permissible under “fair use” provisions of copyright law.
In 2006, the World Association of Newspapers demanded that Google News stop indexing its member sites on the grounds that Google was profiting from the use of their copyright material. Agence France-Presse sued Google for the same thing in 2005. At the time, Google News carried no advertisements and hence, no obvious revenue stream.
The addition of AdWords to Google News was inevitable as the economy continues to weaken and Google looks to expand its revenue streams. But what will be the reaction from the newspaper sector now that they also feel the advertising downturn?
Monday, January 19, 2009
US Magazine Digital Revenues Must Change
The web continues to impact the US magazine sector with some 18 titles stopping their print presses in 2008 and now being joined only this month by Country Home, Electronic Gaming Monthly and Plenty magazines.
Advertising Age reported that Time Inc.'s digital ad revenue last year totalled an estimated $245 million, or 10% of the company's total ad revenue. The revenue achieved is greater than some their competitors such as Conde Nast, who only achieved 3%, but not as much as others such as Martha Stewart magazines, which have achieved a greater percentage of their revenues. They suggest that anyone who is generating over 8% of print is ‘ahead of the digital curve’.
If you believe that sub prime only related to housing think again. Ad pages sales and their rate sales have been recently driven by increasing circulation at the cost of subscription prices, marketing, resource and distribution costs. When the ad pages crashed the circulation was at a height that was now longer realistic and for some, the gap between cost and revenue has become a gulf.
Circulating print copies, is also now getting more expensive in the US, with Anderson News, which handles about 25% of all magazine distribution, raising a new charge of 7cents per issue.
So what do consumers want and importantly what are advertisers wanting to now pay for? Some would say that merely taking today’s print copy and slapping it onto a website isn’t cutting it for either party.
New York magazine, whose information is local generates about 20% of its ad revenue from digital but is planning to raise this to 50% within 5 years. The Economist, raised about 16% of its ad revenue from digital last year, and along with Time Inc and others such as Sports Illustrated are clearly starting to make digital inroads.
Interestingly Time Inc.'s People.com isn't planning on living off ad revenue alone. This spring, the site will start selling downloadable games and they are releasing a 1$ iPhone application planned to push revenues higher.
Print will always have a place, and a consumer base but digital is coming and finding the the right model, content and revenue balance is the goal. It is clear that magazines like newsprint are sailing into uncharted waters and have to be open as to where the revenues will be generated moving forward.
Advertising Age reported that Time Inc.'s digital ad revenue last year totalled an estimated $245 million, or 10% of the company's total ad revenue. The revenue achieved is greater than some their competitors such as Conde Nast, who only achieved 3%, but not as much as others such as Martha Stewart magazines, which have achieved a greater percentage of their revenues. They suggest that anyone who is generating over 8% of print is ‘ahead of the digital curve’.
If you believe that sub prime only related to housing think again. Ad pages sales and their rate sales have been recently driven by increasing circulation at the cost of subscription prices, marketing, resource and distribution costs. When the ad pages crashed the circulation was at a height that was now longer realistic and for some, the gap between cost and revenue has become a gulf.
Circulating print copies, is also now getting more expensive in the US, with Anderson News, which handles about 25% of all magazine distribution, raising a new charge of 7cents per issue.
So what do consumers want and importantly what are advertisers wanting to now pay for? Some would say that merely taking today’s print copy and slapping it onto a website isn’t cutting it for either party.
New York magazine, whose information is local generates about 20% of its ad revenue from digital but is planning to raise this to 50% within 5 years. The Economist, raised about 16% of its ad revenue from digital last year, and along with Time Inc and others such as Sports Illustrated are clearly starting to make digital inroads.
Interestingly Time Inc.'s People.com isn't planning on living off ad revenue alone. This spring, the site will start selling downloadable games and they are releasing a 1$ iPhone application planned to push revenues higher.
Print will always have a place, and a consumer base but digital is coming and finding the the right model, content and revenue balance is the goal. It is clear that magazines like newsprint are sailing into uncharted waters and have to be open as to where the revenues will be generated moving forward.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)