Multiple outlets are reporting this week that Apple is set to announce a newspaper subscription plan for the iPad tablet, one where revenue will be shared by the publishers and Apple.
As part of the deal, Apple will implement an opt-in feature that will let users share their personal info with publications. The publishers need that info to share demographics with advertisers.
Both parties have been in negotiations for such a plan since before the iPad launched in April. Publishers would not agree to the plan without the opt-in feature, calling demographic data “the most valuable asset.”
Although the exact figures are unclear, it is believed the deal will give Apple a 30 percent cut of all subscriptions sold, similar to the share they take for music.
Additionally, Apple might take as much as 40 percent of advertising revenue.
Result for: advertising revenue
Reuters has gotten the rumor mill in full swing today by posting that a premium, pay-for Hulu is headed to the Xbox 360 and iPad soon.
The news agency is citing two sources close to Hulu that say the site will offer a “premium” service, which will charge a monthly subscription on the popular devices in the very near future.
On the PC, Hulu is currently free, with ad-support. However, users can only watch the trailing five episodes of most TV shows, whereas with a premium subscription, they can watch full seasons, with no ads.
Hulu has quickly become the second most popular online video site, behind YouTube, in the United States, and made over $100 million in advertising revenue in 2009.
Apple, Hulu, and Microsoft declined to comment.
Some believe Hulu’s plans is a recipe for disaster: “Many consumers already pay $100 or more monthly for TV, telephony and high-speed Internet access and are unlikely to welcome an incremental fee merely to watch from the Internet some of the programs they already get,” said Phil Leigh, an analyst with Inside Digital Media.
Result for: advertising revenue
According to a MediaPost report, Twitter will be launching an official advertising platform, with head of product management and monetization Anamitra Banerji confirming it at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting.
The platform is “only in the test phase,” however. When asked how it would work, Banerji says it will be “explicitly clear that a sponsor paid for the ad,” and it will be “relevant and useful, so the user doesn’t think of it as an ad.”
As reported today, the company says they receive and distribute about 600 Tweets every second, reaching a popularity almost as high as Facebook, meaning advertising revenue could be very high if done correctly.
We will keep you updated when the platform is better explained.
