Time Inc. has yet to offer digital subscription services through Newsstand due to issues with Apple's terms. Time's new CEO, Laura Lang, said getting their content to iPhone and iPad users would be one of her top priorities.
Even though Time was one of the first in the industry to offer their content in a digital format, they had always treaded lightly around Apple due to the restrictions that come with the App Store and Newsstand. Up until recently Time had not offered an online subscription through Newsstand but single issue purchases through the App Store app. Eddy Cue, senior vice president for Internet software and services at Apple, says most of Newsstand's 5 million subscribers purchase subscriptions as opposed to individual issues.
This deal comes after Jeffrey L. Bewkes, chief executive of Time Warner, made a statement back in November concerning Apple's terms on digital content.
“The only deal we have not done is with Apple, and to cede to their demands to sell digital subscriptions,” ... “They want you to be subscribing to them, and the last time we looked they weren’t making the magazines,”
Apple will continue to face pressure from competitors such as Amazon who also offers digital subscription services to Kindle users. Subscribers to Amazon's services who own an iPad can also access that data on an iPad or iPhone via the Kindle app which gives them the flexibility to choose what service they'd like to utilize.
When Lang took the job at Time she said that striking a deal with Apple would be one of her top priorities.
“For a magazine or brand like People or Time, a tablet will become an increasingly important part of the experience,” Ms. Lang said. “Our goal is to offer content where our consumers want to read it.”
While financial data or terms of the agreement weren't discussed, Apple has stated that they are treating Time Inc. no different than they would any other content provider, large or small.
The iPad is steadily becoming a preferred way to view and access content for millions of users. Time's new deal with Apple will bring many of their most popular titles to Newsstand including People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, and Entertainment Weekly.
