Publishers unite to create new digital storefront for portable reading

Five major US publishers have announced a united front in the fight for retaining control over content on e-readers.

Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc. jointly announced the establishment of an independent venture to develop open standards for a new digital storefront and related technology that will allow consumers to enjoy their favorite media content on portable digital devices.

In a statement, the publishers said the goal of this digital initiative will be fourfold, to create: a highly featured common reading application capable of rendering the distinctive look and feel of each publication; a robust publishing platform optimized for multiple devices, operating systems and screen sizes; a consumer storefront offering an extensive selection of reading options; and a rich array of innovative advertising opportunities.

The release said that beyond the interests of these five publishers, the venture would welcome participation from other publishers who would like to offer their content via this new digital platform. It said publishers would derive revenue from content and advertising sales, as well as from print subscriptions.

"For the consumer, this digital initiative will provide access to an extraordinary selection of engaging content products, all customized for easy download on the device of their choice, including smartphones, e-readers and laptops," explained John Squires, the venture's interim managing director. "Once purchased, this content will be 'unlocked' for consumers to enjoy anywhere, anytime, on any platform."

Reports said that the five publishers are equal partners in the venture, and a 10 person board would work on the initiative, representing two individuals from each publisher. Reports also suggested that this united front is actually a way for publishers to form a credible defense against the onslaught of competition from e-reading devices to their dwindling print subscriptions. E-readers such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, are said to be gaining popularity, and according to one estimate by Forrester Research, around 10 million e-readers would be sold in the US by the end of 2010. Moreover, smartphones like Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry have also gained popularity as possible reading devices. A report in the . There will be more than 50 million smartphones in the US by the end of 2010, according to an estimate by m:Metrics.

The real battle is more for the control. Presently, reports suggested, that publishers such as News Corp. received a little more than a third of the $14.99 monthly subscription fee Amazon charges users for The Wall Street Journal for reading the magazine on Kindle, and provides limited access to subscriber data to publishers. While Amazon pays book publishers half the cover price, newspaper and magazine publishers get around 30 percent of the sales of their content on Kindle, which publishers see as being greedy. The move is therefore being interpreted as trying to regain control of content, which was 'theirs' in the first place, and market it to readers on terms that are favorable to them. The joint statement pegged the reader base at an “unduplicated” audience of 144.6 million according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI).