Saturday, November 14, 2015

Toronto Star encouraged as tablet app downloads hit milestone

The Globe and Mail's media reporter James Bradshaw reports that the Star says it has a solid start to the big bet it placed on a daily tablet edition. The Star says its Toronto Star Touch app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times in its first two months.
Downloads of the app give little hint at how often readers open its editions. But getting onto 100,000-plus tablets marks the first milestone on the way to the newspaper’s goal of attracting 180,000 daily readers by the end of 2016. And it gives ownership some early data to show to advertisers whose willingness to buy tablet ads will ultimately determine whether the Star’s gamble, which is costing the company up to $25-million this year, will pay off.
“We’ve gotten out of the gate,” John Cruickshank, the Star’s publisher, said in an interview. “We’re now sort of trending in the way we want.”
The Star’s tablet edition is based on the design and technology behind La Presse+, a similar product produced by its namesake daily in Montreal. The Star’s is updated once daily and free to download, although only for iPads so far. (An Android version is expected before the end of 2015).

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