• by Steve Smith  @popeyesm, November 30, 2012

The all-you-can-eat digital magazine project Next Issue is adding even more value to its multi-title subscription service. The coalition of five magazine publishers announced this week the addition of eight new titles to its app-based newsstand. ESPN The Magazine, Fast Company, Food & Wine, Men's Fitness, Men's Journal, New York Magazine and Travel + Leisure are either currently in the Next issue library or are coming in the next month’s issue.

Next Issue launched earlier this year with an all-in-one app strategy that gives subscribers unlimited access to titles in the newsstand for either a $9.99 monthly fee for most of the titles or $14.99 for additional “premium” titles. The additions bring the library to 73 magazines in the Basic collection and 80 in the Premium tier. Prices remain the same after the new titles are added. Next Issue is including the new additions in its holiday gift promotions.

Next Issue is a joint venture created several years ago by five of the largest magazine publishers to explore new models and formats for digital magazines. The companies -- Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp and Time, Inc. -- all have robust digital magazine programs separate from Next Issue. Initially, the JV was looking into standardized formats and models for delivering digital magazines even before the Apple iPad formally launched. That mission evolved into creating a buffet-style magazine newsstand app that could bundle many titles for a single subscription price. Many of the titles in the Next issue app have some or all of the enhanced functionality of their respective iPad, Nook, Kindle or Android versions. But the newsstand app allows the subscriber to access multiple titles in one place, including recent back issues of each publication.   

With these additions to the catalog Next Issue is venturing outside of the five member publishers and including now publishers like Mansueto, New York Media, American Express Publishing, Wenner Media and ESPN/Disney.