It’s official: most media companies are eager to go mobile. A new survey conducted by the Alliance for Audited Media (previously the Audit Bureau of Circulations) shows that 90% of the AAM publications polled have a mobile presence.
That’s up from 51% in 2009 and continues a steady trend of publishers adding mobile to their publishing platforms.
The remaining 10% that did not have a mobile presence said they plan to “distribue mobile-optimized content” within the next year.
“How Media Companies are Innovating and Investing in Cross-Platform Opportunities,” the fourth survey on digital publishing from AAM, presents results from online interviews with publishers of business and consumer publications and newspapers that took place Oct. 8–26.
A total of 210 AAM members from Canada and the U.S. were surveyed. The study was done in conjunction with Roslow Research.
Here’s a snapshot of findings from the annual survey, which started in 2009 as a way to find out how publishers were approaching digital initiatives.
Mobile money
• 77% of publishers agreed mobile revenues must come from both advertising and circulation
• 54% said mobile currently accounts for up to 9% of advertising revenue
• 56% said it accounts for up to 9% of circulation revenue
Paywall payoff
• 48% of newspapers charge for some or all of their website content using a paywall
• Nearly 40% use metered paywalls in which readers have access to a certain number of articles before they have to pay
• 17% use a hard paywall, in which a reader must pay to access any of the content
• 33% use a combination paywall where access to premium content is controlled
Device details
• 56% of polled publishers charge for content on their iPad apps
• 42% charge for content on the iPhone
• 38% charge for content on Kindle
• 31% charge for content on Nook
• nearly 40% aren’t currently charging for their content on any device
Healthy app-etite
• 85% of publishers have iPhone apps
• 87% have iPad apps
• 75% have Android apps
• 67% have Kindle apps
• 57% have Nook apps
• The media companies produce, on average, 3.4 iPad and iPhone apps, three Kindle apps, 2.4 Nook apps
Content conundrum
• 73% of apps currently offer the exact same content as the print product
• 21% of apps deliver unique content that’s unrelated to its print sister publication
Looking ahead
• 20% of AAM media companies expect their portfolio of digital offerings to account for at least 25% of their advertising revenue by the end of 2014
• Less than 15% said they have plans to decrease the frequency with which they publish their print publications
• Less than 3% think their publication will solely be produced digitally in the next five years
(Click here for findings from the 2009 study.)
