While much of the industry has been talking up consumer magazines’ migration to the screen, Pacific Magazines commercial director Peter Zavecz has offered a reality check, saying digital versions of the publisher’s titles will not exceed 10% of its circulation base even within five years.
The lower than expected figure can be chalked up to a variety of factors including insufficient consumer demand, low financial returns from digital titles and an overstated rate of transition, Zavecz told AdNews.
Despite acknowledging digital as an emerging channel for the industry, Zavecz said establishing an online-only presence would be a “nonsensical” move as consumers are still avid print fans. “It doesn’t make any sense to be moving completely to digital right now as the demand isn’t there.
Consumers are still purchasing printed magazines in great numbers,” he said.
Zavecz admitted lesser profitability was a key factor in not wishing to encourage readers away from print. “If you create a significant price difference between digital and print you are encouraging consumers to shift from print to digital, assuming all things are equal,” he said. “Given our current returns, we have no desire to push consumers away from print.”
According to Zavecz, the industry had greatly exaggerated the speed at which magazines were shifting to digital. “It will happen, but not at the rates people are expecting,” he said. “The actual rate of transition has been overplayed by the market.
Magazines are moving to digital and mobile platforms at a gradual rate and just because it is here and now doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a wholesale changeover at the same time.”
Plus, a title’s suitability for digital and the speed at which it transitioned was dependent upon its content and target market, Zavecz argued, saying niche, not mass titles, were more likely to become digital-only publications. “A title like Wired was more likely to have an accelerated digital take-up than a major women’s title, and given its subject matter, you could reasonably assume that it will eventually move to digital-only channels,” he said.
“Many niche titles in narrow markets, of which there are literally thousands, eventually may see digital-only editions as an opportunity to expand their appeal, increase their audience numbers and improve their business model. However, the rate of transition to digital is ultimately up to the consumer. They will choose the platform on which they wish to receive information.”
Zavecz’ comments were echoed somewhat by MEC chief executive Peter Vogel. “I think print is going to have a difficult year in 2013,” he said. “Magazines will perhaps have one or two less titles but I think the support that they get is still very strong. They have a good relationship with customers and information that is a bit harder to find online when compared to general news.”
This article first appeared in the 25 January 2013 edition of AdNews, in print and on iPad. Click here to subscribe for more news, features and opinion.
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