According to a new report from Juniper Research, annual revenues derived from eNewspapers delivered to portable devices will exceed $1.1 billion by 2016.
The report noted that the surge in iPad adoption led a number of newspaper publishers to move beyond standalone smartphone apps towards “integrated digital strategies.” For instance, companies like News International have begun offering a single subscription price for access to The Times across all digital platforms.
The transition to a paywall-based model will almost certainly result in a decline in the digital user base. Despite this, for many publishers the revenues that accrued from a moderate user base paying a modest subscription charge would outweigh initial loss of CPM-based advertising revenue.
However, many publishers would struggle to bridge the gap caused by the dramatic decline in sales from print editions. What’s more, free online news obliges publishers to set digital subscription prices markedly lower than print to ensure a critical mass of users.
The so called “NeoNewspapers” are another factor to think about. Publications such as The Early Edition and Flipboard create magazine-style content on tablets derived from social media, RSS feeds and brand partners, effectively getting a piece of the action from traditional newspapers.
Finally, Juniper predicts there will be 5 million consumers accessing eNewspapers over tablets and/or eReaders by the end of 2011. Furthermore, they say that tiered content pricing will become increasingly popular in the eMagazine space…