The hot discussion the past few days has been all about tablet editions. So MediaShift is devoting its Mediatwits #177 podcast to the subject today at 13:30 ET. Readers of TheMarioBlog are aware that tablets have been uppermost in my mind as well, as per these two recent blog posts:
What next for tablet editions?
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/tablet_editions_through_the_ages
Today it must be the app with something extra
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/it_must_be_the_app_with_something_extra
Earlier this month, Canada’s Postmedia Network announced they were going to shutter the evening tablet editions at The Ottawa Citizen, The Montreal Gazette and The Calgary Herald. All three of the tablet editions ceased publication last week.
What once was a promising part of Postmedia’s project to go the way of a “four platform strategy”, the evening tablet editions became less successful than expected. The audience simply did not come, although those who sampled it liked it very much.
Today’s podcast will consider such topics as:
—Has smartphone adoption – especially the bigger screens on recent phones – affected the use of tablets. Here in the U.S. 68 percent of adults now have a smartphone compared to 45 percent who have a tablet according to a new report from Pew Research. Tablet ownership seems to have plateaued in the past two years.
—To what do we attribute the success of tablet editions for two Canadian papers, The Toronto Star and La Presse?
—Let’s not count tablet editions dead yet: There’s also the announcement that Next Issue, the “Netflix of magazines,” would relaunch as a magazine app called Texture.
— Other experiments: A joint venture by Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp. and Time Inc., Next Issue was an attempt by magazines to band together to prop up digital subscriptions. Founded in 2009, Next Issue was intended to be an electronic newsstand. The rebranded app, Texture, will allow users to search for more content and share via social media. It will also allow users the ability browse by article instead of by publication. Its closest competitors would have to be Apple News and Flipboard. But truthfully, it’s fighting for your attention with other social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. Of course, it remains to be seen whether Texture’s subscription model will ever gain widespread adoption.
Key questions during today’s forecast
-What do you think about the way people consume news on tablets?
-Has that shifted considerably?
-Which content is better on tablets and which on smartphones?
-Will it matter in the end as screen sizes change on all devices?
Who will participate in today’s podcast?
Moderator:
MediaShift’s Mark Glaser will host
Special guests:
Mario Garcia, founder at Garcia Media
Anthony Ha, writer at TechCrunch
Douglas Hebbard, publisher at Talking New Media
Regular guest:
Andrew Lih at American University, with Jefferson Yen producing.
Tune in:
Mediatwits #177: Tablet News Apps Stagnate as Smartphone Apps Boom