May hint at timing of subscription support

The iPad-only publication The Daily should launch "in the next few weeks," according to James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, and the chairman and CEO of News Corp. for Europe and Asia. The title has been in development for some time, and was originally expected to premiere on the 19th until a last-minute delay. The planned 99-cents-a-week pricetag will lower the barrier for "high quality journalism," Murdoch claims.

The launch of the The Daily has often been associated with Apple introducing subscription support, which would allow iOS users to receive new issues without having to consciously buy and/or download them on an issue-by-issue basis. The fate of such plans is unknown though, particularly as the iOS 4.3 betas have yet to show any references to subscriptions. The technology could conceivably be added in a later beta, but might have to wait for a later iOS update.

Murdoch adds that News Corp. is getting a "huge amount of support" from Apple on the publication. In terms of when it might be termed a success however, Murdoch suggests that his company is unsure. "We're taking this milestone by milestone, and we don't know what pace to expect, and how the dynamics with the weekly subscription will work. We have high hopes for the US marketplace in particular, though."

by MacNN Staff