Murdoch reveals News Corp iPad app sales numbers at D8
Steve Jobs wasn't the only CEO on stage at the D8 conference this week -- Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp, also took the stage this week, and shared some sales figures for his company's iPad news apps. The Financial Times' app is the biggest winner, with 130,000 downloads, although that number is probably so high because the app itself is free. The Guardian Photography app (not part of News Corp, but still a print publication), also free with a sponsorship, has 90,000 downloads, and the Wall Street Journal app (free to subscribers) has 10,000 downloads.
Internationally, the numbers are a little lower, though the iPad only went on sale overseas last week. The Times iPad edition has only sold 5,000 copies, and The Australian's app has sold 4,500.
Murdoch is just as optimistic about Steve Jobs, though, in believing that where there are iPads, people will want material to read on them. "After all," he told the crowd, "what's an iPod without music? A high-definition television without popular shows? An e-reader without news or books?" And he's got a point, but the question will be if there are enough iPad owners out there who are willing to pay for content for print publishers to make their business profitable again.
