Outlook Money Partners Zinio For Distribution Via Mobile & Tablet; Launches Digital Edition

Media group Outlook India Pvt Ltd is undertaking a slew of digital initiatives in an attempt to draw international readers.

The company, known for its flagship news magazine Outlook, has partnered with US-based Zinio, a developer of a digital newsstand to distribute its personal finance magazine Outlook Money on mobiles and Tablets.

Outlook also publishes Outlook Traveller, GEO, Marie Claire, People, Newsweek and Careers360.

With Zinio, the group has launched Outlook Money apps for iPad as well as Android OS based devices. The apps are available for download for free but users will have to pay a subscription charge for reading the magazine. iPad (http://in.zinio.com/browse/publications/index.jsp?sch=true&productId=500622189) users will be charged Rs 668 for 28 issues, which is 73 percent cheaper than subscription for the print edition.

Bangalore-based EC Media also has a similar digital bookstand app called MagsonWink which offers 118 magazines and newspapers including Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and in India – The Hindu, Times of India, Dinakaran, Malayala Manorama.

Outlook Money recently celebrated its 13 year anniversary with the launch of its digital edition, which will be refreshed weekly. Outlook Money covers topics involving stocks, mutual funds, real estate, insurance and taxation.

Afaqs reported Indranil Roy, president, Outlook Group, as saying, "The website will help us to reach out to a larger number of consumers who can't access the print version of the magazine because of distribution or delivery issues. This will also increase the chances of getting traffic from outside India."

The website Outlookmoney.com sports features such as a helpdesk, financial inclusion, blogs, calculators and the group now plans to develop more features.

The digital magazine is unappealing; there is nothing digital about it. A search does not highlight the keyword in the magazine, and neither the stories nor the pages have separate links. As we have seen with other digital initatives by print media, this attempt at bringing their magazines or newspapers online reflects an inability to change from their traditional outlook and ring in the new.