Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » The Hearst Corporation

Next Issue Media Is The “Netflix For Digital Magazines”

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:53:15 +0000

Even though the iPad has been around for two years, it has not made much of an impact on the digital magazine market. Digital magazines make up only 1% of the industry circulation total and the publishers know that this could be a problem. This is why Next Issue Media has announced an Android app, which encourages users to read more publications on their tablet. Next Issue is a joint venture between five magazine publishers: Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredeth, News Corp. and Time Inc.

Next Issue Media is considered the “Netflix for digital magazines.” Subscribers would pay for a fixed monthly fee and would get access to a virtual newsstand. By paying $10 per month you would get unlimited access to the digital editions of Next Issue’s entire catalog of magazines, which are custom-designed for the tablet. By adding another $5 per month, you would also get access to weekly magazines like THe New Yorker. Currently there are 32 magazines in the newsstand that include Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Vanity Fair, and Esquire.

The app is currently only supported on Android Honeycomb tablets, but there is no word on whether it will be available on the iPad, Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble Nook. The Next Issue Media Android app has a 30-day free trial.

Hearst To Acquire Digital Ad Company iCrossing For $375 Million [Rumor]

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:10:52 +0000

Hearst Corporation is rumored to be buying digital ad company iCrossing for $375 million. iCrossing would earn additional bonuses if reaching certain targets. “While going through the process of evaluating iCrossing’s position in the market, we have spoken with, and entered into, non-disclosure agreements with many companies,” stated iCrossing spokesperson Dana Mellecker. Hearst is the parent company of 15 newspapers and 14 magazines. [Reuters]

What Is Brightcove Doing With A Total of $81.2 Million Funding?

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 01:39:42 +0000

The return on investment made on YouTube’s funding through the acquisition definitely has whetted the appetite of investors. YouTube took in two rounds of funding from Sequoia Capital for a total of $11.5 million. So how come Brightcove, a lesser known Internet TV website is receiving such substantial funding? Brightcove started with $5.5 million and then received $16.2 million. Today, it was announced that Brightcove raised $59.5 million. This comes to a total of $81.2 million of total funding. The investors include Maverick Capital, The New York Times Company, Transcosmos Investments, Accel Partners, Allen & Company, America Online, General Catalyst Partners, The Hearst Corporation, IAC (InterActivCorp), and Brookside Capital.

“We think thereâ€™s a lot of opportunity outside the United States for Internet TV,” stated Adam Berrey, the VP President of Marketing of Brightcove. “We think this market will consolidate. Itâ€™s time for the leaders to emerge. This puts us in a good position.” Berrey didn’t mention what Brightcove is planning on doing for future plans, but according to TechCrunch, Brightcove did acquire metaStories on March 20, 2006. metaStories is a Seattle based company that has the tools that creates Flash content.

“Brightcove’s early success in partnering with media companies that are driving the transition of television and video distribution to the Internet puts the company in the right position as Internet TV takes off on a broader scale,” stated Jamie Kiggen, senior VP President of AllianceBernstein. “We’ve looked at many opportunities in this area and believe that Brightcove is well positioned for success in creating solutions that both media companies and consumers will embrace.”

With this new funding, Brightcove plans on growing the company and to provide Internet TV tools to media creators so that it would help them monetize as well as distribute their own videos. Brightcove is planning on launching ad revenue sharing soon.