GateHouse Media Goes Mobile With the Help of Spreed Inc.

FAIRPORT, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Community newspaper publisher GateHouse Media, Inc. (www.gatehousemedia.com), has announced a partnership with Toronto-based Spreed Inc. (www.spreedinc.com), to launch community-focused smartphone and iPad applications in its local markets.

Beginning in February, GateHouse will start the rollout of apps – in collaboration with Spreed – for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and iPad devices. The apps enable smartphone users in GateHouse's local markets to read news from their local newspaper, and will allow advertisers to reach users of smartphones in GateHouse markets.

"There has been tremendous growth in the mobile space that we believe will only continue to explode," said GateHouse Media CEO Michael Reed. "We are excited about the future possibilities for growth in our markets that mobile provides.  Early adoption and strategic expansion of our local news apps meet the needs of our readers and advertisers in this rapidly developing space and enhance our coverage in the markets we serve."

All applications published by GateHouse will have the same look and feel, but will contain unique branding, stories, images and community events. In addition to the applications, GateHouse will also be licensed for Spreed's CleverAds mobile advertising platform and Mobile Insight, its mobile analytics suite. Access to Mobile Insight will allow GateHouse to include mobile usage statistics as part of their digital circulation numbers, by way of a recent partnership between Spreed and the Audit Bureau of Circulation. It will also allow GateHouse to offer targeted advertising opportunities to their existing clients, enabling local advertisers to display their message to the right user, at the right time, in the right place.

"We are beginning to see a large group of newspaper publishers in North America embrace mobile platforms as a new, innovative and profitable distribution channel, said Spreed CEO Anthony Novac. "Spreed Mobile channels cut distribution costs significantly and also provide the opportunity to create a completely new and untapped revenue source for newspaper organizations. We are excited to be working with a group as innovative and far-reaching as GateHouse Media."

"We are in the midst of an unprecedented evolution in the delivery methods available for reaching existing readers and new audiences," said GateHouse Vice President of News & Interactive Brad Dennison. "We are excited to have a partner as cutting-edge as Spreed in our corner as we push ahead."

According to Morgan Stanley Research, the smartphone market will grow to 1 billion units by 2013. Informa Telecoms 7 Media predicts that mobile advertising revenues will increase eight-fold by 2015 to around $25 billion.

About GateHouse Media, Inc.

GateHouse Media, Inc., headquartered in Fairport, New York, is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by its 86 daily publications.  GateHouse Media currently serves local audiences of more than 10 million per week across 21 states through hundreds of community publications and local websites.  GateHouse Media is traded in the over-the-counter market under the symbol "GHSE."  

About Spreed Inc.

Spreed Inc. is a world leader in mobile publishing and advertising technology for the newspaper industry. Their platform allows premium publishers to deploy applications across all the major smartphone and tablet platforms for all of your headline and niche properties. Paired with CleverAds, their mobile ad platform and Mobile Insight, their analytics and profiling tool, mobile publications are able to attract premium brands and garner the highest industry mobile CPMs.

SOURCE GateHouse Media, Inc.