News Corp Buys Skiff eReader

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It wasn’t so long ago that Rupert Murdoch had been quoted as saying that he didn’t think it was likely that News Corp would launch their own eReader service. But now, with the announcement that News Corp bought the Skiff eReader platform from Hearst, that seems to be just the direction they’re going in.

Murdoch, and through him News Corp, hadn’t been what you’d call real big on the concept of online journalism. He hasn’t had many kind words for Google of late especially. But perhaps bowing to inevitability, he’s moving that way.

Proof? Not only has he bought Skiff, the eReader technology, he’s also set up Journalism Online LLC, which in turn established the Press+TM e-commerce platform. Press+TM is designed to do two things: help online press establish pricing and payment structures and set up the so-called “metered mode” to give a certain amount of it away free.

With standard net user behavior to seek out free at all costs, and competitors like Apple well ahead, News Corp will have a tough time getting people behind Skiff with Press+TM.