The Financial Times is reporting that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is considering launching a news organisation dedicated to providing subscription content for digital tablet devices, like the iPad.The Times newspaper - part of the News Corp global empire - already has an iPad app charging £9.99 for a 30-day subscription. The latest estimated figures show The Times has 12,500 subscribers, seen by the industry as good performance in a new market.
The Times website is now enveloped in a paywall and estimated figures for that don't look as good. It seems customers are more willing to pay for a truly portable service.
Another News Corp publication, The Wall Street Journal, also has an iPad app and in May Rupert Murdoch said 10,000 subscription had been sold.
The Financial Times - itself behind a paywall - says of the News Corp plans:
The ambitious undertaking under consideration would be another test of consumers’ appetite to pay for news. The momentum behind developing a tablet-centric product is driven by a belief that readers are willing to pay for portability. News Corp’s early progress in selling subscriptions on the iPad has inspired the company to consider the new business.
It reports that News Corp is nearing making a decision on the venture.
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