What is an iPad magazine reader worth?

As publishers sign up to Apple’s iPad subscription model and ABC announces plans to start putting digital subscriptions towards a title’s rate base (even if the electronic version differs from the print version), the New York Times asks, what is an iPad magazine reader really worth?

While some may argue that an iPad magazine is just as immersive and engaging as a printed copy, MediaVest’s Robin Steinberg claims clients will not “simply fo along with the assumption that a digital subscriber should count the same as a paper one”.

Steinberg wants clients to be able to choose whether ads appear in print or digital versions. “She stressed that buyers were keeping a close eye on digital subscriptions to make sure that they did not become the electronic equivalent of a New Jersey landfill, a place where unwanted copies were dumped to make the numbers look good,” the NYT says.

Read the full article here.