Print publishers keen to go mobile, claims ABC

But will they make money from it fast enough to offset declining print revenues?

56% of newspaper and magazine publishers plan to launch smartphone apps in the next two years, while 17% already have them in production, according to a survey conducted by publishing industry body ABC.

Its survey canvassed senior executives from the industry about how they plan to capitalise on mobile platforms, and found that more than 80% believed consumers will rely more heavily on their phones as primary information sources in the next three years.

Just a third said that their publication already has a well-developed plan for "attacking and conquering" the mobile market, though.

44% of the survey respondents said that mobile traffic to their websites is up by 10% today, while half believe such traffic will increase by 5-25% in the next two years.

However, there were mixed views on how much money mobile will make for newspapers and magazines. While more than half the respondents said that they'll aim to make money from advertising and subscriptions on mobile, just a third think that mobile will have a significant impact on their publication's revenues in the next three years.