New Yorker Lauches Digital Edition; Free To Print Subscribers
This story was written by Staci D. Kramer.
At first I thought the ad in last week's New Yorker was a mirage, a promise of a digital edition that would arrive when the magazine was publishednot a week later like the print edition. And when the post-registration response was a promise to let me know when the first edition was ready, let's say I didn't hold my breath. Turns out the wait was much shorter than expected: the first web-based digital edition arrived in my inbox late yesterday and I finally had the chance to open it today. Exactly as promised, it's the complete print New Yorker in digital format. (Yes, I know some of you are anti-replica but some people want the magazine experience online.) Much of the magazine already appears online but timing varies to encourage newsstand and subscription sales; the cartoons are all online via CartoonBank.com. The New Yorker couldn't provide anyone to talk about it today but here are some details:
-- Despite the full-page ads offering a free four-week subscription or free access to current print subscribers, in-house, this is considered a beta and a soft launch. A one-year digital-only subscription runs $39.95, the same as the print promotion on Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) now but more than some other print offers.
-- It's searchable and comes with full access to the complete New Yorker archives dating back to February 1925. Pages can be printed but the issue can't be printed intactor downloadedas far as I can tell.
-- Delivery is promised "first thing Monday morning" before it hits most newsstands and mailboxes.
-- In addition to containing all the print ads, the digital edition itself currently is sponsored by Chevron as a "special promotion."
-- The sign-up process for current subs needs to be streamlined. Those without a customer service account have to sign up for that first and then go through a separate process for digital access.
By Staci D. Kramer