New York — Media baron Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. advancing further into the digital reader market with the acquisition of Skiff, an electronic publishing platform developed by Hearst Corp. on Monday that helps distribute newspaper and magazine content to e-readers and other devices. News Corp. also made an unspecified investment in Journalism Online, a venture set up to help publishers garner revenue from their online audience.
News Corp.’s latest investments emphasizes the company’s commitment about charging for online news and delivering content on various devices.
“Today’s furtherance underscore News Corporation’s ongoing commitment to create strong business models that support journalism at a time of great change in our industry,” News Corp. chief digital officer Jon Miller said.
“Both Skiff and Journalism Online cater as key building blocks in our strategy to transform the publishing industry and ensure consumers will have continued access to the highest quality journalism,” he said in a statement.
News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch has been speaking about plans to make readers pay for online news, anticipating to follow the model of the company’s Wall Street Journal online subscription plan. The Times of London, a News Corp property, implemented a subscription plan for its news website in June
First off, the acquisition of e-reader platform Skiff from US newspaper and magazine publisher Hearst Corp. is aimed at delivering journalism to tablets, smartphones, e-readers, and netbooks.
The deal for Skiff consists only the software distribution platform and does not include its e-reader device, which has not yet released for sale to the public. The market for devices has become increasingly crowded, with competition from the likes of Amazon’s Kindle, Sony Corp Reader, Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Apple’s iPad tablet.
As print advertising revenue is fading fast and circulation crumble, US newspaper and magazine publishers have been looking to carve out a future on the Internet and with e-readers and mobile devices.
Murdoch has since then exploring ways to eventually make readers pay for online access to all of the newspapers in the vast News Corp. stable. On its site, Skiff promises publishers:
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Revenue from content sales
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Advertising sales opportunities
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A way to maintain existing readers and attract new ones
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A cohesive approach to reaching multiple devices, from e-readers to smartphones to netbooks
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The ability to migrate the brand equity and design qualities of publications to the fast-growing e-reading channel
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Participation without the need for incremental investment or staff
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Prospective savings on physical printing and distribution
Journalism Online offers a service called Press+. The objective of this service is to “make the transition to a paid online model successful for publishers and easy for readers.” It offers readers a tool to purchase, track, and manage paid content in one account. For publishers, it is a means to sell access to their content.
Journalism Online said Monday that more than 1,500 publishers around the globe have endorsed letters of intent to use its “Press+” e-commerce platform.
“Earlier this month, the first publishers to introduce paid access began integrating the Press+ platform, which they are now in the final stages of testing and adjusting before launching their initial offerings to their readers,” Journalism Online co-founder Steve Brill said in a statement.
However, today’s declaration does not mentioned how Skiff and Journalism Online would figure into News Corp.’s strategy. But given Murdoch has talked about creating an online news subscription model for its news properties, it is plausible that the company would use Skiff’s publishing technology to translate its papers for digital devices, with Journalism Online providing the pay model.
“As we continue to talk to publishers about Press+, being able to assure them that we have both the resources and support of a major strategic partner will be enormously helpful,” added Gordon Crovitz, another co-founder.
“Indeed, News Corp. is the industry leader in making the case that there is value in journalism online for which readers will be willing to pay,” he said.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Journalism Online said News Corp. had acquired a minority stake in the company launched by three US media executives last year and would have a seat on the five-member board.
According to The Wall Street Journal, quoting “a person knowledgeable with the matter,” said News Corp. was not interested in the Skiff e-reader and plans to incorporate Skiff into the rest of the company instead of letting it operate independently.
The Journal further said that Skiff and Journalism Online could become the mainstay of News Corp.’s plans for news outlets to collaborate on strategies and sales of digital subscriptions and advertising.
Journalism Online was introduced in April 2009 with the aim of aiding newspapers and magazines collect revenue from their online readers.
News Corp. also declared Monday that Jon Housman, who has been a strategic adviser to the company for many years, had now been designated as president of News Corp.’s digital journalism initiatives.
“We believe in Journalism Online’s vision, and that the flexible technology solution they have created will help a lot of organizations to monetize their valuable content,” Housman said.