New York Times offers app-producing platform to publishers

The New York Times has produced a platform called ‘Press Engine’, which allows publishers to build their own apps for the iPad and iPhone.

The publishers will be able to pay The New York Times a one-off license fee for access to the platform, along with an additional monthly maintenance charge, but keep any advertising or circulation revenue that their apps may produce.

Christine Topalian, a director of the News Services division at The New York Times, explained: “Over the last year there’s been a particular amount of interest from different clients asking whether we would be willing to license the code of our own New York Times application.”

‘Press Engine’ is The New York Times‘ latest attempt to produce revenue from sources other than advertising and circulation.

The first to sign up to the platform are the Telegraph Media Group, Dallas Morning News, Providence Journal and the Press-Enterprise.

James Moroney, chief executive officer and publisher at the Dallas Morning News, said: “When a company like ours, that doesn’t have the resources and scale of The New York Times, went looking for a partner, the first place we looked was to The New York Times because of their track record and because they are in the same business we are in.”

The Dallas Morning News has said that it plans to launch its ‘Press Engine’ built iPad app at the beginning of next year, but first it is considering making iPad content “available only to people who have either paid for a print subscription or who are paying for some kind of digital access” – much like The Times‘ curent iPad app.

This follows news from Advertising Age that marketers have been slow to embrace the iPad and its apps.