Would the real ABC (NYSE: DIS) please stand up? Whilst the Audit Bureau of Circulations in the U.S. last week said e-reader editions of magazines and newspapers didn’t have to be identical to their print forebears to qualify toward circulation figures, the UK body of the same name says otherwise.
Journalism.co.uk: “In the UK, iPad apps will be (classed) as digital editions, which are reported separately on ABC print certificates and not included in a title’s average net circulation figure.”
The coming wave of tablet magazines will see many delivered in app form, to Apple’s forthcoming iPad. The U.S. ABC change means that such editions, whilst they must still carry the same content as the print versions to qualify, don’t have to be presented in the same way – meaning publishers can take advantage of the new medium.
Wired, for example, is planning to harness 360-degree images, moving infographics and video inside its app, which will likely be cheaper than the print edition but will nevertheless continue to be monthly.