Financial Times exec: iOS apps don’t work for publishers
It’s been close to a year since the Financial Times left the iTunes app store to launch a a web app for its paid content, and FT.com Managing Director Rob Grimshaw told the audience at GigaOM’s paidContent 2012 conference that this move has more than paid off. “It’s been a tremendous experience,” Grimshaw said, adding: “The audience didn’t shrink, it expanded.” He went on to say that FT.com’s mobile web app has seen more than two million users – more than FT.com ever saw for both of its iOS apps combined.
FT.com took the step after negotiations about in-app subscriptions broke down over Apple’s demands to take a hefty cut of the subscription fees. “We felt that the terms that Apple were offering were detrimental… to our business,” explained Grimshaw. Asked whether he lost a big promotional opportunity by leaving the iTunes store, he replied: “I don’t need Apple to tell the world the Financial Times is here. We’ve been here for 120 years.” He added that iOS apps don’t seem to be working for publishers, as they’re not bringing in enough revenue. Said Grimshaw: “I’m not sure it’s all that it’s cracked up to be.”
Read the full story at Paidcontent.co.uk
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Posted by Janko Roettgers
on May 24 2012. Filed under Digital, featured.
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