Life after print is sweet and profitable, at least for one company

For some magazine publishers, of some types of magazines, apparently there is life after print. An article in the New York Times about the IDG group says that the company made the migration to the web profitably in both financial and audience terms.

“The excellent thing, and good news, for publishers is that there is life after print — in fact, a better life after print,” said Patrick J. McGovern, the founder and chairman of I.D.G.

A year ago InfoWorld, one of the company's flagships, became a Web-only publication and the company waited for reader and advertiser reaction.

Today, I.D.G. says, the InfoWorld Web site is generating ad revenue of $1.6 million a month with operating profit margins of 37 percent. A year earlier, when it had both print and online versions, InfoWorld had a slight operating loss on monthly revenue of $1.5 million.

Across the company, the remaining print publications still typically play a vital role, but a lesser one — physically smaller and financially diminished. In 2002, 86 percent of the revenue from I.D.G.’s publications came from print and 14 percent online. These days, 52 percent of the revenue is from online ads, while 48 percent is from the print side.

Last year, print and online publications accounted for 70 percent of I.D.G.’s $3 billion in revenue, with the rest coming from its conference business and its technology research firm, I.D.C.

The giant technology publisher has not just stabilized its business, Mr. McGovern said, but is also now growing at about 10 percent a year — though a severe recession would surely dim its growth prospects this year.

The company is insistent that many of its some 300 titles will remain in print, although more and more with a "web first" emphasis. A large publication like CIO, which will continue to be distributed to chief information officers in print form, has a completely integrated staff that spends 80% of its time on web content.

The NYT story is consistent with the evolving view that some specialty titles, particulary in the business-to-business category, not only lend themselves to online publication -- what might be called non-paper publication -- but thrive on it. The sticking point has always been whether taking the plunge will mean giving up revenue and margin. In IDG's case, the opposite seems to have been the case.