Publishers Claiming Digital Circ on Rise

Driven by environmental concerns and the high cost of international distribution, publishers are claiming digital circulation is on the rise.

The number of publishers claiming qualified electronic editions—i.e. digital copies—on their most recent BPA circulation statements increased 28 percent, according to the company. There were 286 in June, up from 224 in December. (The jump, in part, can be attributed to a rule amendment requiring just a single pre-audit per publisher, BPA CEO Glenn Hansen said.)

Cimarron Buser, SVP, marketing and business development at Texterity, added that “the increased use of laptops in a paperless world” has also helped spur on the increase of digital.

Despite the increase, digital still accounts for a small percentage of the overall circulation mix. On average, electronic editions made up 13 percent of total circulation for all BPA members. In fact, of the top 20 magazines in terms of digital circulation tracked by BPA, just one—Renewable Energy Focus—claims a majority of its circulation digital-only.

Oracle claimed a digital distribution of 146,545—a 19 percent increase—during the first half of the year, topping all BPA titles in digital circulation. Electronic editions now comprise almost 30 percent of Oracle’s total subscriber base.

BPA's Top 20 Titles in Digital Circ | First Half 2008

SOURCE: BPA

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Publishers Claiming Digital Circ on Rise

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 10/13/2008 - 14:25.

So the questions that comes to mind is – how do publisher protect their copyright once a publication goes digital? Are the companies locking the articles or are they embedding a watermark into each article?

"Just" 13 percent of total circulation?

Submitted by Cimarron Buser (Texterity) on Tue, 10/14/2008 - 13:32.

Yes, "on average" electronic editions made up 13% of total circulation for BPA members reporting them. However, this is a snapshot in time, and many of these publishers have just begun to offer digital within the last 6 months. The average for most publications after offering digital editions for at least a year is more in the range of 15% to 20%. You'll see that in the "Top 20" most publishers are delivering in excess of 20% of their circulation digitally. This is by virtue of the length of time they've been doing digital, plus (to some extent) the technology focused content. All that being said, some publishers might say "if it's only 15% of my circulation, why should I bother?". The answer is that this "digital edition" group is very highly engaged, has asked for -- really demanded! -- a digital offering, and is one of the best audiences for offering additional value-adds for advertisers, such as webcasts and white papers. This is the audience of the future.

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