iPad users ‘Plan to ditch print newspaper subscriptions’
iPad news apps appear to be accelerating a move away from newspaper print subscriptions, a survey of more than 1600 users of the tablet device suggests.
The study carried out by the Reynolds Journalism Institute and released over the weekend pointed to news consumption as the most popular use for the iPad. Just over 84% said following news and current events was one of their main uses.
Encouragingly for Australian newspaper publishers such as News Ltd and Fairfax Media rushing to create apps, 71.8% of those who use their iPads to look at news said they would be very likely to do it with an app, while a further 21.2% said they were somewhat likely.
However, the survey reports: “More than half (58.1%) of the respondents who subscribe to printed newspapers and use their iPad at least an hour a day for news said they are very likely to cancel their print subscriptions within the next six months.”
Just over 10% said they had already cancelled their printed subscriptions.
You wont’ see me sacrificing the web for Jobs’ closed garden. An App for this an App for that what a load of crApp. All i want is a decent browser, gimme my Firefox every time.
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What the hell is the Reynolds Journalism Institute? Never heard of it. Is it legit? Credible? Also, I would be reluctant to draw conclusions from a US study and apply them to Australia. We all know our media is undergoing change at a much different pace and manner than the US.
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Why is the sunday telegraph or herald always sold out by mid-day Sunday then?
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Apps are yesterday’s news.
Cloud computing for mobile is the way forward…
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There wouldn’t be many people who subscribed to the printed version and would spend more than an hour a day reading the news on their iPads I suspect – pretty small sample size!
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“What the hell is the Reynolds Journalism Institute? Never heard of it.”
Then you’re probably not informed enough to have a credible opinion about media or marketing on “the Internet”…
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I was surveyed via smh.com.au. Ditched Smh and Australian print delivery for PressReader/Smh app for iPad months ago and spend more time with papers now than ever. So much better than browser cos you download at home via wifi and then read offline … Especially for features sections. Web is better for breaking news, yes, but I get that from Facebook/twitter/Flipboard links to blogs/multiple news sites these days rather than by hanging out at one URL.
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Sample size is growing the faster iPads get sold. I work for a news provider and the number of downloads thus far is astounding for Australia. Helps that it’s a free one of course 😉 but it’s quality content and the engagement levels are through the roof. I wouldn’t be too quick to judge anything iPad/iPhone/App. I’d be focusing how to capture the great audience that engages with them, rather than utilising your sample size of one to say “I think it’s crap, therefore this is bollocks.”. There will be a lot of people around for a long time that will still buy the paper. However the upcoming generations will be different. They are growing up with this technology, not papers.
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