Time Inc Gives Free iPad Access to Print Subscribers

Time Inc has secured a deal with Apple that will bundle free iPad access to print subscribers, according to a Wall Street Journal report. If you have a print subscription to Time, Sports Illustrated, or Fortune, you will be able to log into the iPad versions of the publications and get the electronic editions for free starting today.

Until now Apple did not allow publishers to bundle print subscriptions, so users of the Time Inc. titles (except People) had to pay extra to get the iPad editions of print magazines. But the new deal will allow print subscribers to log in with their credentials in Time Inc's iPad apps and download the titles for free (it's still business as usual for digital subscribers).

Apple Loosens Grip On iPad Subscriptions

The details of Time Inc's deal with Apple are still unclear, but it is a softening of Apple policy. Under initial terms, subscribers had to use Apple's subscription system to sign up for an iPad edition of a publication (via in-app purchases), enabling Apple to keep 30 percent of the revenue and control over user information.

This has led to most magazines selling individual issues within their iPad apps, in most cases at higher prices than their print counterparts. In this context, Time Inc's deal with Apple to allow free print subscriber access to iPad editions is a positive step forward in Apple relaxing rules for publishers, allowing for greater flexibility.

But the deal with Time is not even near the end of the story. Apple and publishers still have room to talk about handing subscriber information, an important part of how publications monetize readership; and we have yet to see whether other large publishers will play ball with Apple's rules or will try to eschew Apple's 30 percent cut from everything sold in the App Store.

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Time Inc Gives Free IPad Subscriptions to Print Subscribers

Reports in the Wall Street Journal and CNet seem to confirm that Time Inc.-the parent company of Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune-has reached a deal with Apple to make the iPad editions of its magazines free to its print subscribers. As the Journal notes, this change may "signal a possible resolution between Apple and publishers."

When Apple launched iOS subscription support in February, the company mandated several pricing requirements: Publishers were free to sell subscriptions outside the App Store, but were required to match or better those deals from within the app. (Apple, of course, also takes 30 percent of in-app subscription sales.) That ruling seemingly precluded publishers from offering discounts to print subscribers.

At first blush,?Monday's news suggests that Apple has revisited this policy, as subscribers to Time's print magazines will, after authenticating within the appropriate app, get free access to the iPad edition. New versions of those apps released on Monday already integrate the free support for print subscribers. (Time's People Magazine app began offering such a feature in August 2010.)

It's worth noting, however, that Time's apps don't offer any in-app subscriptions. Non-subscribers can purchase individual issues within Time's apps, but the only way to subscribe is by going the print route. Of course, Apple's policy requiring that apps offer comparable in-app subscription offers reportedly doesn't take effect until June 30, so Time's approach may well change before that date rolls around.

(Image Caption: The iPad version of Sports Illustrated updated on Monday with support for free subscriptions.)

The Journal reports that Time's general counsel Maurice Edelson met frequently with Apple vice president of Internet services Eddy Cue to make the subscription deal. Neither the Journal nor CNet had received a response from Apple regarding the policy change by press time, nor has the company responded immediately to Macworld's own request for comment.

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Time, Apple Strike Deal on iPad Access for Print Subscribers

Time, the giant magazine publisher, has reached a deal with Apple to provide its magazine subscribers with access to the iPad versions of its publications, a Time spokesperson confirmed, in an important step toward detente between the publishing industry and the Cupertino, California, tech giant.

But the two sides have yet to agree on a deal that would pave the way for nonprint subscribers to subscribe to the iPad-only versions of magazines. At present, digital-only readers must purchase Time’s iPad magazine applications one issue at a time.

The deal to grant access to existing print subscribers, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, represents an important incremental step toward a solution to what has been an occasionally acrimonious tug-of-war between publishers and Apple for control over the iPad application subscription process — and perhaps more importantly, control over access to digital subscribers.

“This is a step in the right direction,” said a source familiar with the deal, who added that more work remains to be done hammering out an agreement over digital-only subscriptions.

Starting Monday, according to The Journal, print subscribers to Time’s titles will be able to access the iPad versions for free. In a key technical breakthrough, the various iPad applications will be able to authenticate existing print subscribers and then allow them access. Time’s People Magazine already had such a arrangement with Apple; today’s pact brings the rest of Time’s stable into the fold.

The agreement, terms of which were not disclosed, is a welcome bit of news for Time, which publishes such titles as Fortune, Time and Sports Illustrated. The venerable magazine publisher, the nation’s largest, has faced internal uncertainty in recent months following the ouster of CEO Jack Griffin in February, after Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time’s parent company Time Warner, determined that Griffin “did not mesh” with the company’s culture.

Senior executives at Time, including general counsel Maurice Edelson, chief financial officer Howard Averill and editorial honcho John Huey had apparently chafed under Griffin’s management style, leading up to a “furious run-in” with Edelson on the 34th floor of Time headquarters, according to the New York Post’s Keith J. Kelly. Griffin’s firing led to a round of recriminations in which the former Meredith publishing executive defended his record after he’d been shown the door.

Since Griffin’s ouster, Huey, Edelson and Averill have been running the company as a three-person committee on an interim basis. Time’s executive search firm, Heidrick & Struggles, has begun to identify candidates to replace Griffin, The Journal reported, but a decision isn’t expected until late summer. Time Warner reports quarterly earnings Wednesday.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for further details about the agreement.

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