Apple and News Corp. are set to have an event Jan. 19 to introduce “The Daily,” a digital iPad newspaper that will have subscription services.
The Wall Street Journal is bringing us the story through unnamed sources but it’s pretty much a given if they’re reporting it. First of all, Apple and the WSJ have a super duper cozy relationship and News Corp. now owns the publication, so it would be extremely easy to leak it.
We’ve heard about The Daily before and it is expected to be a digital iPad newspaper that has content specifically created for the app, unlike the Wall Street Journal or New York Times apps which reuse the online content. News Corp. has reportedly hired more than 100 journalists for the digital iPad newspaper and it’s unclear if it will have an online element that can be viewed through a browser.
The Daily digital iPad newspaper could be significant for another reason: it’s supposed to be coming with a subscription model that’s built into iOS. The iOS 4.3 build is supposed to enable publishers to do subscription plans thought iTunes, which will make it easier for newspapers and magazines to reach these audiences. The Daily is rumored to cost about 99 cents a week.
While The Daily digital iPad newspaper sounds ambitious, it’s still just a news app, so you have to wonder why it warrants a special event. Perhaps it will be preloaded on future Apple tablets? Could this be the unveiling of the iPad 2 with new software and app makers to show it off?
It could also be that this is an Apple event where News Corp. is just one of the publishers being brought on stage to show off the subscription feature and the WSJ is playing it as if News Corp. should have equal billing.
[Via The Wall Street Journal, photo]
