• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, February 10, 2011

Time Inc. Makes Sub Deal for HP Tablet

Frustrated in its efforts to strike a subscription deal with Apple for the iPad, Time Inc. is making a bit more progress with other technology companies. The magazine publisher has struck a deal with Hewlett Packard enabling it to sell digital magazine subscriptions to consumers who own the forthcoming HP tablet computer.

According to All Things Digital, which first reported the news, Time Inc. will be able to market subscriptions to four flagship titles -- Time, People, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune -- to consumers who buy the HP tablet computer, a new device incorporating Palm's webOS platform, which is due out this summer.

The news comes as The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is producing a new version of the iPad tablet, which will be thinner, lighter and faster than the current model. It will also include a built-in camera to allow videoconferencing.

Publishers previously hoped to sell digital subscriptions to iPad owners, but have been unable to reach agreement with Apple over the terms of the business model. Some of the main disagreements have focused on control of subscriber data, including billing information and demographic data that allows magazine publishers to target subscription offers more effectively.

Tea Party Review Launches

Following a sweeping electoral victory that gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives, the conservative grassroots Tea Party movement that is responsible for much of this success is getting its own magazine, The Tea Party Review. The new monthly print title, with an initial subscription-only distribution of 10,000, is intended to help sustain the momentum behind the November surge for future elections -- and to broaden the appeal of the movement.

In an interview with minoline, Editor in Chief Steven Allen estimated that Tea Party supporters and sympathizers make up about 25% of the American electorate. Noting the party's inchoate character, Allen added that the magazine also aims to become a forum where Tea Party supporters can discuss and debate their differences in policy and principle.

Land Rover Scores with The Daily

News Corp.'s new digital newspaper for the iPad, The Daily, is producing strong advertising engagement with readers in its first couple of weeks of publication, according to Land Rover. The niche sports utility vehicle manufacturer tells Folio: that its interactive ad in The Daily has generated more than 52,000 impressions.

Over one-half of consumers who use the app engage with the ad, according to Young & Rubicam Brands' Wunderman, Land Rover's agency of record. The trade mag quoted Land Rover brand and interactive communications manager Leah Watkins-Hall as saying: "44% of our vehicle owners actually own tablets."

Conde Nast Digital's Chubb To Step Down

Sarah Chubb, the head of Conde Nast Digital and a 20-year veteran of the company, will leave the company on Feb. 18. Conde Nast expects to name a successor sometime in the next few weeks. Chubb's departure comes not long after a major reorganization that combined the sales staff at Conde Nast's digital division with the larger (previously print-focused) Conde Nast Media Group.