News
The Newspaper in new formats05/11-2009
How will we read the newspaper in the future? And how will the media houses make a living? These are topics currently being lively discussed in the media houses. Will it be Kindle, iRex, Sony or iPhone which will end up being our preferred device for newspaper reading? No matter, says Visiolink, the most important part is to be able to deliver the printed version online on any device and produce a business model that makes it possible for the media houses to make a living. Visiolink already has parts of the solution implemented and are in the stages of evaluating the first customer feedback.
With circulation free falling for publications all around the world, it has become time for the newspapers to find alternate revenue streams to ensure their survival. At Visiolink, they do not doubt holding part of the key to the solution - The media can create new revenue streams by delivering their content through new channels such as iPhones or e-book readers like The Kindle, iRex or Sony. Many devices are in play and there is no reason to believe that any one device will completely dominate the market. This is why it is of utmost importance to have the ability to convert once content regardless of the media. Visiolink supports 19 different datastandards and by doing so, directly support 19 devices allowing the newspaper to decide themselves on which devices they want to support says, Jens Funder Berg, CEO at Visiolink.
Micropayment has no future in Denmark
The media industry is currently in heavy debate about providing micropayment (payment for single articles). Jens Funder Berg, does however not believe this is the future - The users are not used to pay for content on an article level, and it can seems as an irretant. Also, micropayment is in it's early statges and Visiolink highly doubts, along with several experts that in a small country like Denmark it will ever be possible. There simply are not enough people to make it a feasible solution, there will not be enough people buying the individual articles to cover production costs. Furthermore, no technological standard has been developed to handle the micropayments, further complicating the issue according to Jens Funder Berg.
Online paper provides extra revenue
The alternative to micropayments is to introduce the printed newspaper online in it's entity, and this is something Visiolink has great experiences with. By converting a simple PDF into a vast array of different formats the newspaper can be read on a number of devices. The product is a copy of the printed newspaper so the users are fully understanding of the fact that it has a price associated with it says Jens Funder Berg, he continues: A reader can either view the newspaper on their e-book reader or on their iPhone. E-book readers are fairly expensive and will probably be used by less to read the paper. We are more a beliver of the iPhone - you have it in your pocket and it is always online. If you are a subscriber, direct access will be allowed and if you are a single page buyer the current version can be bought and payment made via the phone - It is guaranteed extra revenue for the newspapers. It does not cannibalise on their print product and at the same time it has the ability to draw a younger readership that to a higher degree leans up against newer technologies.
