Rejoice, magazine readers. According to the NY Times, Time Inc. and Apple have finally come to an agreement in which twenty of Time Inc.’s biggest magazines will be made available on Newsstand. This truly is a big deal, as Time Inc. has been one of the largest skeptics of Apple’s magazine service, having previously acted extremely cautiously and chafing at many of the restrictions Apple has imposed on other publishers.
The announcement was made in a phone interview yesterday with Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior VP for Internet Software & Services, and Laura Lang, who took over Time Inc. as chief executive in January. A deal with Apple had reportedly been one of her top priorities since taking the job. “For a magazine or brand like People or Time, a tablet will become an increasingly important part of the experience. Our goal is to offer content where our consumers want to read it,” she said.
Magazines confirmed to be included with this deal are Time, People, and Sports Illustrated, three of the top five magazines in overall circulation in 2011. Other confirmed magazines are InStyle and Entertainment Weekly.
