Three major U.S. publishers, Hearst, Time Inc. and Condé Nast, intends to sign a partnership to launch a "virtual newsstand", a platform which will be for magazines industry as iTunes is for music.
The Apple iTunes platform changed the way music sells online, while the site Hulu has changed the way in which Americans are watching TV content online. Likewise, publishers Hearst, Meredith, Time Inc. and Condé Nast will launch a digital platform which was to be a sort of newsstand for sale of digital editions of magazines in their portfolio.
According to U.S. press, the "virtual newsstand", which the three media companies call it "iTunes for magazines", will be announced in early December and will be managed by a new company, within which Hearst, Meredith, Time Inc. and Condé Nast will be equal partners. Publishers have not yet signed any written agreement on founding the company.
Through this platform, users can access content from magazines like The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine, Esquire and Better Homes and Gardens. However, this project raised some issues, in the context in which the contents of some of the publications can already be accessed freely. The plan of the companies is to unite and sell their content online.