Hearst to Feature Oprah, Other Magazines on iPad Apps

By David Sims

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Even though her ratings are dropping and she won't recapture the hold she once had on the public, Oprah Winfrey is still considered a solid bet by Hearst.

The week of July 4 saw Oprah's lowest ratings since 1983, the year she debuted her show, but Hearst Magazines shrugged off the grim news with the announcement of app editions of O - the Oprah Magazine, among others.

"Hearst Magazines sold more than 12,000 downloads of its Popular Mechanics iPad edition since its release on July 8 and is gearing up to release many more apps this year, including app editions of Esquire; Marie Claire; O, The Oprah Magazine; Food Network Magazine; Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar," industry observer Nat Ives writes. 

Ives adds that Hearst is "also working on many apps that extend its magazines' brands but aren't versions of regular issues, according to Hearst executives."

The publisher released its iPad app version of Popular Mechanics a couple weeks ago, industry observer David Kaplan reported, saying "iTunes users have downloaded more than 10,000 copies of its $1.99 showcase issue. While other mag publishers, like Condé Nast, focus on creating digital replicas around a few, high-profile titles, Hearst is taking a broader approach, planning to release another dozen apps by the end of 2010."

The iPad edition of O, The Oprah Magazine, is expected in the fourth quarter , and will let users "buy e-books and read them within the app itself," Ives explains, adding that "the app preserves the basic magazine experience but includes visual tags that let users know they can see a video message from Winfrey."

Hearst officials say some magazine iPad editions "will hew more closely to printed page than others," Ives says, but that the publisher "sees a lot more potential in iPad advertising than just reproducing and enhancing print ad pages," quoting John Loughlin, general manager saying 'When you get a large enough install base, this is going to be all about targeted advertising."