Bonnier Corp. Inks Deal with Both Apple and Google on Subscription Service for Tablets
Bonnier Corp. has reached agreement with both Apple and Google for consumers to purchase magazine subscriptions for Apple’s iPad and with Google’s new One Pass. Bonnier is the only major publisher to have agreements with both companies.
 Consumers now have the option to purchase an annual subscription for Popular Science+ on iPad with a single tap inside the app using In-App Purchase.
Popular Science is launching its subscription service on iPad with a limited-time sale price of $14.99 per year for 12 issues. At $1.25 per issue, this represents a nearly 70 percent savings over the newsstand price of $4.99 per issue. Subscribers will receive a notification every month that the new issue is available for download, and the subscription will automatically renew annually unless the customer chooses to cancel. The standard rate for a yearly subscription will be $19.99.
Single-issue downloads will still be available for $4.99 through In-App Purchase.
“Our iPad readers let us know they wanted the ability to buy annual subscriptions using their existing iTunes account, and we’re happy to deliver on their demands,” said Gregg Hano, VP, Group Publisher of Bonnier’s Popular Science. “A yearlong subscription to the digital magazine will bring the cost per issue down significantly, rewarding loyal customers while still giving them access to the high-quality extra interactive content, video and custom design that only the digital experience can offer.”
Other Bonnier titles will follow in Popular Science’s footsteps shortly, with plans for Popular Photography+, Science Illustrated+ and TransWorld SNOWboarding+ magazines to integrate this model this winter.
 Google One Pass allows readers to purchase magazine subscriptions on multiple digital devices including tablets, smartphones and desktop computers. Bonnier chose to launch this feature with Popular Science in early spring.
“We are thrilled with our new partnership with Google. With this solution, we are able to give consumers what they’ve been asking for — an easy, simple way to get Bonnier content through subscriptions and on various devices and websites,” said Sara Öhrvall, senior vice president of research and development for Bonnier.
Google One Pass integrates with the Android operating system and allows Bonnier to experiment with different pay models. Consumers can purchase subscriptions, single issues or individual articles. The service enables publishers to offer an integrated content experience across multiple devices.
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The news of Bonnier’s new partnership with Apple and Google was the talk of the media world. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, New York Post, Financial Times, Advertising Age, MIN and FOLIO all covered the news. Below are the articles from Advertising Age on the Apple news and The Wall Street Journal on the Google News.
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Popular Science has become apparently the first magazine to accept the iPad subscription plan that Apple detailed this morning.
People who want to subscribe to Popular Science’s iPad edition can now do so by tapping a button within the app itself.
» Full AA article
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Google Inc. fired another salvo in its broadening competition with Apple Inc., opening a payment system for digital content that will let publishers keep a bigger share of revenues than a service launched by Apple this week.
» Full WSJ article |
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