Amazon Working on New Magazines Deals with Publishers

[tubemonkey]

Amazon Talking Tablet Content With Magazine Publishers

Amazon is reportedly planning to beef up its rumored tablet with a huge offering of content. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Amazon is currently discussing pricing options with magazine and newspaper publishers for both single-issues and subscriptions on its tablet.

Another step in the right direction.

[kennyc]

..oops, wrong topic....

[PG4003]

I would love to see Amazon offer more/better magazine subscriptions. B&N recently added People Magazine to their Nook Color. If Amazon does offer some good magazines for their tablet, wonder if those would also be available on the Kindle App on other Android tablets?

[kennyc]

Yes me too. One reason I went ahead with purchasing a tablet was in the anticipation of reading e-magazines in color and properly formatted. The technology seems to be there, but the publishers don't ....yet.

[stonetools]

I think one of the main reason Amazon went ahead with its tablet was that The NC was making such great inroads among women Women are apparently magazine readers to a far greater degree than men, and the NC blows the Kindle and other e-ink readers away as a presenter of magazine content.

Even as the iPad remains the favorite son of the magazine business, publishers are discovering that the Barnes & Noble Nook Color is a very promising younger daughter.

Top sellers on the Nook Color are mostly women’s magazines, providing publishers with a new surprise outlet.

The Nook Color has surprised publishers of women’s magazines like O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health by igniting strong sales that rival — and in some cases surpass — sales on the iPad.

The success was not so easily predictable for a device that has been on the market only since November and faces stiff competition from Apple, Amazon and the Android-based tablets.

“We didn’t really know what to expect,” said Liz Schimel, executive vice president for digital media for Meredith, publisher of Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens and other women’s magazines. “We regarded it as sort of a test. Would the Nook magazine experience resonate with consumers? We were extremely pleasantly surprised. I think Barnes & Noble has been very smart about creating a whole brand and a campaign that’s really targeted at their core mass audience which overlaps nicely with our audience.”

LINK

B&N has been aggressive in pressing its advantage, and Amazon is rushing to catch up. B&N has been equally aggressive in pushing the NC as good for children's books, which also helps the NC among women.

[OtterBooks]

Magazines are one of the things I enjoy on a tablet-like thingy. Amazon is being aggressive about content and ecosystem development, which is no surprise. I have little doubt we'll be seeing many more articles about their various dealings. Those cats aren't fooling around with this.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by stonetools

B&N has been aggressive in pressing its advantage, and Amazon is rushing to catch up.

Yeah, like a cheetah is rushing to catch up with a wounded gazelle.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

Yeah, like a cheetah is rushing to catch up with a wounded gazelle.

Apt description.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

Yeah, like a cheetah is rushing to catch up with a wounded gazelle.

Or a hyena trying to run down a nimble zebra .

Wildlife metaphors aside, I think B&N clearly stole a march on amazon by introducing the NC. Amazon is scrambling to catch up. Competition is good.

[Daithi]

Is a 7" screen going to be big enough for color magazines?

I'm generally an Amazon fan, but they have more to compete against than just the NC.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Daithi

Is a 7" screen going to be big enough for color magazines?

I'm generally an Amazon fan, but they have more to compete against than just the NC.

No not really but the 10" in January will be perfect.

[stonetools]

More grist for the mill:

Amazon has begun the process of courting magazines and newspapers for its as-yet unannounced Android tablet. Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is offering a deal similar to what Apple has negotiated, but has hinted it might be willing to sweeten the pot.

LINK

Apparently " sweetening the pot" may mean the giving the companies access to subscriber info-something Apple was not willing to do. Stay tuned.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Daithi

Is a 7" screen going to be big enough for color magazines?

I'm generally an Amazon fan, but they have more to compete against than just the NC.

Agreed. Personally, I don't think 7" (at least w/NC's 1024x600 res) is enough for a good magazine experience (or graphic novels or PDF for that matter). Then again, magazines don't interest me that much to begin with, and the ones I'd be interested in are unlikely to be among those offered.

But NC seems to be doing okay, so evidently that's good enough for a number of people.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Or a hyena trying to run down a nimble zebra .

Wildlife metaphors aside, I think B&N clearly stole a march on amazon by introducing the NC. Amazon is scrambling to catch up. Competition is good.

Maybe a nimble zebra, heh. I don't think it's going to be about catch-up. That isn't Amazon's game. Seven inches may be all the two devices have in common. I wish the best for B&N (still one of my fave stores), but I'm afraid it's not gonna be competition so much as an outright massacre.

Apparently " sweetening the pot" may mean the giving the companies access to subscriber info-something Apple was not willing to do. Stay tuned.

I wouldn't be surprised. Frankly they can give my demographic and behavior data to anyone they please. I have my tinfoil hat fitted and ready.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

...
I wouldn't be surprised. Frankly they can give my demographic and behavior data to anyone they please. I have my tinfoil hat fitted and ready.

And the spam filters and firewalls in place....