Almost two-thirds global publishing industry leaders foresee newspapers, publications to end up as digital-only by 2020, acknowledge print publishing future is limited with declining print sales, rise in tablets, smartphones: MPP Global Solutions

Kendall Sinclair

LONDON , March 9, 2012 (press release) – International publishing industry leaders foresee a digital only future

Almost two-thirds of industry leaders from the publishing industry foresee that newspapers and other print publishers will end up as digital-only enterprises by 2020, according to a survey conducted by MPP Global Solutions.

Conducted during two webinars examining the future for the publishing industry, the survey gathered opinions from publishing sector stakeholders across North America, Europe and Asia, with 60% of respondents predicting that we will see the majority of newspaper publishers moving to digital only enterprises within their lifetimes.

MPP Global Solutions, the leading provider of Payment Services and eCommerce Solutions to the Media and Entertainment Industries conducted the exploration entitled 'Print Publishing, 1605 - 2020, R.I.P. Is There Life after Death?' MPP are well positioned to discuss the digital strategies and monetisation of digital content due to their position as providers of the eCommerce solutions for the much-lauded paywall for the Times website.

Paul Johnson, Chief Executive Officer for MPP Global Solutions, said: "This result confirms that the Publishing Industry acknowledges that the future of print publishing is limited, and ensuring the long term future requires a digital strategy to enable content to be delivered to consumers in new ways."

Newspapers in the UK are experiencing on average a 10% drop year-on-year for daily print sales according to figures released by ABC in December 2011.

Paul added: "With declining print sales and the dramatic rise in the sales of smartphones and tablets for users to access digital editions of newspapers and magazines, publishers have to ensure that they embrace the delivery of digital content across multiple platforms."

"What is interesting is how they will continue to monetise content and drive the bottom line figures in the future. Implementation of paywall technology is working for newspapers such as the Times in the UK and the New York Times and this could prove to be the difference between success and failure in the long term."

For more information on MPP Global Solutions and how they enable publishers to monetise digital content visit www.mppglobal.com

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