Among the 931 respondents who indicated that they currently subscribe to print newspapers, there is a statistically significant, moderately strong, positive correlation between iPad news consumption and the likelihood of canceling their print subscriptions. For example, more than half (58.1%) of the respondents who subscribe to printed newspapers and use their iPad at least an hour a day for news said they are very likely to cancel their print subscriptions within the next six months.
This seems to mirror what a News Corp exec said less than a month ago and is likely why Rupert Murdoch abandoned his digital $30 million "Project Alesia" digital news stand for existing print products and is instead focusing instead on creating a new, iPad-only publication called "The Daily."
Other interesting tidbits from the survey:
Subscription prices are expected to be lower than print.
When asked in an open-ended question what factors would influence the users' decisions to purchase news apps or newspaper subscriptions on their iPad, "a price lower than the price of a print subscription" was mentioned most often.
Positive user experiences are critical.
Users also indicated that they want a very easy-to-use and reliable app, with access to at least all the content available in the printed edition.
Video and interactivity weren't top-of-mind preferred content formats.
While respondents mention video and interactive features, they are much less commonly expressed in the survey than the aforementioned issues.
Read more information about the survey results here.
I'll also be tweeting and possibly blogging some from the RJI - DPA Tablet & E-Reader Symposium over the next two days.
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Will Sullivan is a 2010-2011 Reynolds Journalism Fellow studying mobile development. He blogs on the RJI Mobile Blog and Journerdism.com. He can be reached at will @ Journerdism.com, on Twitter @Journerdism or on Facebook.
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