Digital publishing will help, not harm pubs

Cannabalism of the revenue of traditional publications by digital publishing is a myth, according to a new British study. The British branch of the publishing consultancy Deloitte says that publishers with digital operations predicted that digital will augment revenue, and that by 2012 up to 40% of revenue will come from online activity. Deloitte's report, launched in conjunction with the UK Association of Online Publishers, also found that 70% of the 30 companies interviewed for the survey did not perceive blogs or user-generated content as a threat, with many looking to integrate blogs into their own offerings.This type of content increasingly being considered as an important component in building online communities.

"Publishers no longer see the digital world as a threat to traditional print publishing," said Mark Lee Amies, media partner at Deloitte.

"Digital revenue generation is averaging 17% of overall revenue and most publishers agree that the growth of online advertising spending has boosted [revenues] overall, and has not cannibalised existing print revenues," he added.

Deloitte named The BBC, the Guardian and online retailer Amazon as the most admired companies in digital publishing.The BBC was the most admired by 23%, the Guardian second with 12%, and Amazon third with 10%.

Consumer magazines were found to be less focused on digital, with their main priority being to use their brand strength to build readership and drive ad revenue.