Time has finally broken down and signed a deal with Apple to distribute it's products through subscription on the iPad.
June 15, 2012- The largest magazine company in the U.S., Time, Inc decided last year to stay along the sidelines and watched its two rivals sign digital subscription deals with iPad maker Apple. A year later, Time has opted to sign its own deal with Apple, accepting the terms that its rivals accepted last year.
On Thursday, Time said its entire consumer line of magazines, that number 20, including Sports Illustrated, People and Time will now be available on the iPad for subscription. Up until this time, only single copies of Time, Inc magazines could be purchased via iPad, but only those who subscribed to the printed editions could also get a digital edition delivered automatically.
Similar deals were struck last year by Hearst Corp. and Advance Publications Inc. However, Time Inc. decided to hold out, as they were not happy with the terms offered by Apple. One of the issues they did not agree with was that Apple would not share the names or contact information with clients who subscribed to the magazines via iPad unless the customer was willing to release it.
Media enterprises regard information of its subscribers as crucial data by allowing them to stay in direct contact with the customer. This is even more important today as technology disrupts the traditional forms of distribution. The access to customers directly gives the companies more of a chance to maintain the customer over the long term and offer them more products to purchase.
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