The word on the street is that newspaper subscriptions could be coming to Apple's iPad soon. And this makes sense. Apple's (AAPL) iPad sold more units than analysts expected, and seems to be a real hit. It is spawning a host of soon-to-be Android powered imitators. While it has added to the ranks of people using devices for eBook reading, the 10 inch screen has caught the eye of others wondering whether the iPad can save newspapers and magazines.

Advertising and subscriptions to newspapers and magazines has dropped steadily over the last ten years, and many see the iPad as a path to staunching some of the bleeding. But so far, setting up subscriptions has been complicated. One can create a dedicated newspaper app that can be purchased in the store. But that leaves a user with a screen littered with various magazine apps. Dedicated readers with tens of magazines may find that unappetizing. Using in-app purchases can work for subscribers, but it's clumsy.

Continue reading Apple to Start Selling Newspaper Subscriptions?

Apple to Start Selling Newspaper Subscriptions? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PLA) published its quarterly numbers today, and while there were some positive developments, overall, I think it's safe to say that the stock is a risk that should be avoided. Unless, of course, you simply want to roll the dice and speculate.

Hey, nothing wrong with having a little fun, I suppose, although there surely are more attractive speculative bets out there. According to , Playboy lost 83 cents per share in Q4. Last year at this time, there was a loss of $4.40 per share.

Continue reading Playboy Still Not Pretty Enough for My Portfolio

Playboy Still Not Pretty Enough for My Portfolio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Playboy (PLA) tends to be associated with the magazine and sex. Not the hardcore, nasty kind, of course -- Playboy has always been more than a tad distinguished, staying above board while the adult entertainment industry has chosen to compete in ways that my editor would delete if I even attempted.

With Iconix said to be interested in acquiring Playboy, it needs to think about where it can win with the ailing brand. The smart move may be to ditch the magazine and move away from sex -- it can't compete in either of these markets. Then, it needs to figure out how to make the brand relevant to everyone not in the Boomer generation ... or treat Playboy as an investment with a clock on it.

Continue reading Iconix could make Playboy work: Kill the mag, take the sex out of the brand

Iconix could make Playboy work: Kill the mag, take the sex out of the brand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The broader economy is showing signs that we can at least interpret as positive, but this doesn't extend to the media industry, it seems. Condé Nast's ad page results are out for its 2009 issues, now that the last issue of the year has been sold for each of them ... and the situation is grim.

Condé Nast lost 8,359 ad pages this year, according to a report released on Wednesday. Ad pages have plunged 30% this year. Cost cutting has been used to offset the revenue declines, with more than 450 positions removed this year and several magazines shuttered, including Gourmet and Modern Bride.

Continue reading Ad pages at Conde Nast down nearly a third

Ad pages at Conde Nast down nearly a third originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Vibe, the urban music magazine, is clawing its way back to life. New owners and editors are trying to make the magazine a success reality again, and they are making the web a priority ... which shouldn't be news but is for an ailing print industry.

The new editor-in-chief, Jermaine Hall, told AdAge that "Vibe.com is really the hub," and that everything needs to point back to the online presence. The print publication will be just one part of the Vibe Lifestyle Network, a move we're also seeing with the likes of Rolling Stone, where the website is being brought back into the fold (and may actually get some resources).

Continue reading Vibe makes a comeback, realizes internet is important

Vibe makes a comeback, realizes internet is important originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The mayhem in the media industry continues. The Wall Street Journal, a News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) property, is closing its Boston bureau and sending nine employees into the wind. The newswire and MarketWatch operations are going to stay open in Boston, however, with no headcount impact.

The Journal doesn't have any plans to close other offices, according to a memo by managing editor Robert Thomson: "there are no plans, nascent or otherwise, to close any other U.S. or international bureau." The WSJ will still support an "investigative function" in Boston, but the New York-based Money and Investing team will cover Boston's mutual fund industry, which boasts such heavy hitters as Fidelity.

At the same time, magazine company Time Inc., owned by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is looking to cut $100 million in expenses, and layoffs will undoubtedly figure into the equation. The company that owns Time, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated - and falls under the same umbrella as AOL, which owns BloggingStocks - is feeling the squeeze of a media recession that's even worse than the regular recession we've all been battling for what feels like decades.

Continue reading Time and WSJ to lay off more

Time and WSJ to lay off more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Printers of the world unite! Feeling the squeeze from the likes of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), a group of magazine publishers is forming an industrywide joint venture ... for protection.

Led by Time Inc., a division of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), participating companies would create a digital storefront for their content. In this way, they could peddle their goods without the hefty carve-outs that come with Amazon and Apple deals.

Continue reading Print pubs inch closer to the internet

Print pubs inch closer to the internet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With persistent rumors about top newspapers shifting toward nonprofit models, the "beg your readers for cash" plan is working for at least one smaller outlet.

A week ago, Paste, a music magazine, began asking its readers for donations. The Associated Press reports that "Editor-in-chief Josh Jackson said Thursday the suburban Atlanta-based monthly has raised $166,000 in donations. The magazine focusing on music, film and culture is struggling after a sharp decline in advertising revenue."

In an interview with Media Life, Jackson explained that the magazine has been able to drum up support by offering exclusive bonus tracks donated by artists like the Indigo Girls, Robyn Hitchcock, and The Decemberists.

Continue reading Music magazine raises cash with donations

Music magazine raises cash with donations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 May 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On a reported basis, Playboy said it lost $0.41 per share. If you strip out charges, you get a loss of $0.15 per share. This number was a few cents better than the expectations of analysts according to this source. Be that as it may, they certainly don't meet my expectations. The adjusted loss is essentially the same as last year's number. I suppose we have to give the interim CEO Jerome Kern a chance. As you'll recall, Christie Hefner finally gave up her throne earlier in the year (thankfully).

Continue reading Playboy's Q1 needs to be airbrushed

Playboy's Q1 needs to be airbrushed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 May 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Layoffs at 'Scientific American' show depth of ad meltdown

Layoffs at 'Scientific American' show depth of ad meltdown originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday, I blogged about the catastrophic decline in advertising in the nation's newspapers and now Publisher's Information Bureau reports that the magazine industry is facing a similarly bleak situation. It's not surprising given that the key drivers behind declines -- a shift toward the internet by readers and weak consumer spending leading companies to cut back on overall ad spending -- are the same.

For the first quarter, magazine ad pages were down 25.9% over the prior year quarter. U.S. News & World Report, plunged almost 69% and Wired was down 57.2%. Boating, Sporting News, Boating Life, Sport Fishing, Power & Motoryacht, and Power Cruising were all down over 50%.

Continue reading Magazine ads plunge 26% in first quarter -- cause for worry?

Magazine ads plunge 26% in first quarter -- cause for worry? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Can magazines get away with price increases?

Can magazines get away with price increases? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Customized magazines: Another dumb idea from a dumb industry

Customized magazines: Another dumb idea from a dumb industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Reader's Digest launches three new magazines

Reader's Digest launches three new magazines originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Conde Nast ditches another magazine

Conde Nast ditches another magazine originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Magazine publishers have believed that consumers and advertisers view them as very different from the daily newspaper. The paper is only read by the consumer for an hour, or maybe less. At the end of the day, it is gone. People will take an issue of Newsweek or Good Housekeeping around for days or even months. They may pick it up and read in several times.

Magazines have a longer "shelf life" than newspapers. That should make them more attractive to advertisers.

Some newspaper companies are actually going out of business. Others. like The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) are facing the need to sell assets. The industry has crumbled in just a couple of years as information consumption has moved to the internet.

Early advertising results from this year show that magazines may be the next newspapers and that by 2010 some of them and the companies which own them may be in very deep trouble.

Continue reading In terms of trouble, magazines are the new newspapers

In terms of trouble, magazines are the new newspapers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oh, Playboy (NYSE: PLA)! The news just keeps getting worse. I was checking out the stock quote this morning and saw that the sexy company's shares (by "sexy company" I refer to the fact that Playboy makes its money off naked women, I do not mean to imply that this is an awesome growth situation, as if you needed to be reminded, right?) are down to $1.75. Can that be right? I'm afraid it is. I then had to check the news to see what awful catalyst reared its ugly head this time. I found one that was posted earlier in the week at paidcontent.org. It looks like Playboy is going to be riddled with charges in the third quarter and will be ditching 80 jobs. It'll generate a net loss in Q3. And one final thing: it's getting out of the DVD business.

Say what? Are you kidding? The article also displayed a memo from CEO Christie Hefner. She basically tries to spin the exit from the DVD business as some sort of smart strategic move. Heck, it looks to me more like a move that she had no choice but to make to save money. I understand her thoughts about shifting to digital distribution, but come on, if the company can't make it in the home-video arena, then there's something really, really wrong with the business. The brand's power is being destroyed by all the competitive forces in the adult space. X-rated content is everywhere on the internet, amateurs can start up their own websites pretty easily, and clips can be posted and accessed on YouTube at a moment's notice. These are trying times for Playboy, and the CEO needs to realize that aggressive action must be taken to improve the brand equity of the Bunny.

Continue reading Playboy: Getting uglier all the time

Playboy: Getting uglier all the time originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to Advertising Age, Macrovision Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: MSVN) has sold the iconic TV Guide to the private equity firm OpenGate Capital. For $1. One freaking dollar! And, even worse, Macrovision is loaning OpenGate $9.5 million at 3% interest to cover the cost of reinvigorating the brand and fulfilling the obligation to serve its current subscribers.

As a child, I would pore over TV Guide, imaging what wonders lay in store for me in the coming week, unaware that the shows would almost always fall short of their promise. For many years, TV Guide and broadcast television were virtually inseparable. Now it's worth a cup of coffee.

The sale demonstrates the difficulty faced by businesses that try to do in print what the electronic world can do better. Want to know what's on tonight? Sites such as AOL Television can provide up to the moment listings, with links and background. With a majority of Americans on cable, program listing are only a button push away. Traditionalists can still find listing in the newspaper.

The type of insider features that were once the meat and potatoes of TV Guide have become core programming for a multitude of magazines such as People and another dying franchise, Reader's Digest. The airwaves are replete with meta-TV programs about TV programs, such as Entertainment Tonight.

No doubt OpenGate intends to reinvent TV Guide, but I have doubts that there is enough value left in the brand to claw its way back to relevancy.

However, I can't quibble that The Price Is Right (CBS, 11:00 a.m.).

TV Guide sold for $1 -- but wait, there's more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gannett (NYSE:GCI) announced it May revenue results. Nothing in them was surprising.

According to the country's largest newspaper company, "Publishing advertising revenues in May were 14.3 percent lower." Classified ad revenue fell even more, almost 20%. Auto, real estate, and jobs marketing have begun to leave newspapers and financial trouble within those industries has cut their ad budgets to the bone.

The most disturbing piece of new is the report was that at USA Today, advertising revenue was 18.4 percent lower on paid ad pages of 260 versus 324 last year.

USA Today is part newspaper, part daily magazine. It uses color and graphics in a way that is closer to Time, Newsweek, or BusinessWeek than to a typical daily paper. It is also a national product, not local like other papers.

If the country's largest paper, and one of only two papers distributed widely in the USA is in such trouble, it may be a sign that the print ad downturn is moving quickly from newspapers to magazines. Some weekly publications like BusinessWeek are seeing double digit ad drops.

Newspapers may not be the last part of the print publication industry to fall apart.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

USA Today ad revenue in free fall, a nightmare for the future of print originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm not particularly savvy on the magazine business, but I think I have the profit model here figured out. Girls Gone Wild haunts the spring break spots, enticing drunken college girls to bare their breasts and more for the camera, and hawks the videos on late night television.

Now, thousands of parents each year are suckered into buying those high school Who's Who books for the pleasure of proving to their relatives that their sons are not losers after all. Is it so hard to believe that the same parent wouldn't pony up a sawbuck for a picture of their daughter at her youthful peak of ripeness? I can imagine the magazine being proudly passed around at the family reunion, after the macaroni salad, before the softball game. "Gosh, is that really Nellie Sue?" says Aunt Jean. "That must have hurt," opines cousin Delores. "Let me borrow that for a minute," says young cousin Carl. "I'll bring it right back."

Yeah, parental pride is sure to lead to the success of the Girls Gone Wild magazine. For many parents, it will be a choice between that or her mug shot for the family Christmas card.

Girls Gone Wild, the magazine -- look out, Playboy (PLA) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.