Link to Lee's letter on the new IBD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rw4m4oyvy1m43yr/The%20New%20IBD%2003%2009%202016.pdf?dl=0
The New IBD – As I See It Anyway
On May 1, 2016 IBD will transition from a daily print edition newspaper with a robust, mostly free website to a daily, subscription based, digital newspaper with a weekly print edition option. The website or digital edition will be the focus, not an adjunct. It will be the main revenue source, buy paid subscription.
This is how I interpret what I’ve heard, not what IBD says. I have asked some questions of IBD and had some explanations. The IBD press release that came out last Friday is at the end of this description.
I believe IBD will continue to encourage and support the IBD Meetups. Their loyal readers and fan base is still of great importance and very much appreciated at IBD.
I know these changes are the result of the titanic changes that have occurred and are continuing in the news and information delivery business. All the local newspapers in my area are barely hanging on. We all know that the finest nationally known papers are also under enormous financial strains. IBD was one of the first newspapers to establish a robust web presence. Now they are making the transition primarily to that new delivery medium with more emphasis on the mobile recipient. I believe the mobile emphasis is the main reason for the new web page layouts.
Please add to this discussion if you know something. However, we don’t want to fan the rumor mill.
These are the changes as I’ve discerned.
1. IBD is transitioning to be primarily a digital newspaper and provider of data centric, data rich investing information on a daily and “real-time” basis. The mission is the same as before. The delivery is adapting to the challenging new business environment.
2. It is still considered a daily paper but without the actual physical paper. It is a daily digital paper, published only on the web, except for the Monday issue. I put real-time in quotes because I think that some data, particularly volume, is still delayed, though most prices may be real time from BATS. Of course, many of the key data parts of investors.com have long been updated intra-day, like stock so the move and the charts. The new digital face of Investors.com is aimed at the mobile users as “readers” transition from PCs to smart phones and tablets. As I understand this was the main reason for the new Investors.com look and feel.
3. The print edition and eIBD version of that print edition will be published once per week, for the Monday date, or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday. It will be out Friday evening as is currently the case. This edition will be expanded some.
4. There will not be a daily eIBD, it will be only weekly. The daily content will be on the webpage.
5. There will be two subscription versions, one for the daily digital only and one for both the digital daily and the weekly print. I believe the IBD Digital will include the eIBD PDF venison of the weekly print. I put what I believe are the new subscription rates below. The only difference between the first and second options is the second includes a once a week printed hard copy.
6. I have heard second hand that existing long term subscriptions will be extended a month for every year of the long term contract. I don’t know this for a fact and have thus far not been able to get confirmation.
7. Most of the daily content we all depend upon will be available on-line with the IBD Digital subscription. Review the content of the new Investors.com to find these:
a. The Big Picture
b. Market Pulse
c. Investor’s Corner
d. Stocks on the Move
e. Mutual Funds
f. New America
g. Internet & Tech (Not sure about this one)
h. ETFs
i. Daily news.
j. I am still looking for some of the daily tables I use like stock most up or down percentage, price and volume leaders.
k. Editorials and I hope the political cartoons.
l. I don’t know where Internet & Tech is now.
8. The research section on Investors.com is very robust.
9. The stock lists section has been updated. Old lists mostly from Screen of the Day that didn’t have a proven track record have been dropped. New ones have been added like, global leaders, new highs and RS line making new highs. I am not sure how often these lists (screens) are run, but I believe the price data in them is nearly real-time.
10. There are more IBD TV videos.
11. IBD will expand their offerings of premium content like Leaderboard and eTables.
12. In the past people could access a good deal of Investors.com by simply registering with their email, and not paying anything. I believe that now non-subscribers will only be able to access IBD Charts, How to Learn (IBD University), Editorials, and IBD TV. All the other fine content will be part of the paid Digital Edition subscription. For example, I’ve heard that if a person subscribes to Leaderboard, but not IBD Digital they will NOT have access to all the Research and Lists on Investors.com.
13. They continue to offer fairly long free trials of four weeks.
Change is always unsettling, but I suspect these are really necessary for the survival of the business. I have confidence IBD will transition and do well because they have a unique and valuable news and information service and many loyal subscribers. They are working hard to adjust their business model at challenging time for information companies.
If we are perturbed or impatient with these changes and uncertainty we can contemplate how challenging it is for the people working at IBD. This is especially so in face of recent layoffs. We can at least be kind and empathetic.
Again, please contribute anything you may know on this. It would be better if IBD summarized these changes, and they may eventually, but for now they are probably too busy making them to do this.
Best Regards,
Lee Tanner
(415) 435-4784
New Subscription Rates:
IBD Press Release, March 4, 2016
LOS ANGELES, March 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting May 2nd, Investor's Business Daily (IBD) will publish a new and improved weekly print edition that will replace the existing schedule of five print issues per week. The new weekly edition will carry innovative and enhanced features to help investors prepare for the week ahead, while leveraging influential and powerful features like the IBD 50 and The Big Picture. The move comes as IBD further focuses on delivering real-time, actionable data and analysis to help subscribers thrive in today's fast paced financial markets. Resources devoted towards publishing in print five days per week will be reallocated to publishing more premium content across the mobile optimized site Investors.com and through IBD's premium digital subscription products. "Our revamped strategy will allow our content creators to engage with subscribers and readers like never before and this underscores our mission of helping investors make more money in the markets," according to Chris Gessel, Chief Content Officer.
As one of the first successful publishers to charge for digital content and install a pay-wall model in the early 2000's, IBD has been at the forefront of providing subscribers with premiere financial content and investment analysis that can't be found elsewhere. As stated by Jerry Ferrara, President of IBD, "Our business model transformation will provide subscribers with more diverse offerings while staying core to our mission and this provides further value to our partners and advertisers. We are executing this strategy from a position of strength by providing customers with what they are seeking, and it will increase profitability along the way." IBD currently attracts over 4 million monthly unique visitors to its online destination site, Investors.com, and publishes premium investment analysis products such as Leaderboard. Several mobile-first product launches are scheduled within the next twelve months.
ABOUT INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY (IBD)
Investor's Business Daily is a leading financial news and research organization recognized for citing early emerging market and stock trends, seen in proprietary stock screens, comparative performance ratings and Leaderboard®. IBD's website, Investors.com, offers tools, analysis and research for investors of every level: IBD University learning center, IBD TV market videos and the IBD Stock Checkup®. IBD hosts popular investment workshops and provides Home Study programs based on the top-performing growth strategy, CAN SLIM. IBD was founded April 9, 1984 by William J. O'Neil, who also originated CAN SLIM.
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