Next Issue Media Announces New Digital Magazine Experience: Texture

MENLO PARK, Calif. and TORONTO, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Next Issue Media – the digital magazine platform owned by Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, KKR, Meredith, News Corp, Rogers Media and Time Inc. – unveiled Texture™, a completely new way for readers to experience the world's best magazines. Reimagined for how people consume content today, Texture combines everything readers know and love about the print magazine experience and layers onto it the power of digital—giving people a curated reading experience, available anytime, anywhere.

Texture is the only premium content subscription service that provides unlimited access to 160 of the world's most loved magazines for one low monthly price. State of the art digital functionality gives readers an unmatched ability to explore current issues as well as 15,000 back issues, allowing them to discover inspiring and entertaining content from an archive of over 500,000 stories. 

Through new features like 'Curated Collections', Texture's editorial team assembles content by theme, surfacing quality stories from multiple publications, and introducing readers to content they might not normally discover. 'My Collections' offers readers a way to gather and cultivate their own favorites for reading instantly or when it's most convenient.

"People go to their known and trusted sources for news and entertainment, but they also love to discover stories that are off their radar," said John Loughlin, CEO, Next Issue Media.  "That's what we built into Texture. Whether dishing up Vanity Fair's 'Call Me Caitlyn' cover story before the rest of the world, or delivering the hotly anticipated ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue days in advance, we're enhancing their ability to discover the finest journalism, narratives, photo essays, product and travel reviews, recipes and more, selected by top editors, all in a way that fits seamlessly into their lives."

New Texture features and benefits include:

• Collections: Whether it's revisiting the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the 10th anniversary, diving into Texture franchises like Strong Women Wednesdays, or serving up the best fall pumpkin recipes across every food magazine, Texture's thoughtfully curated Collections delivers content to readers in a way that anticipates their needs and reflects their curiosity.
• New & Noteworthy: This Texture channel keeps readers in the know – whether the topic is the notorious Hollywood bad boy, latest political renegade or the hottest Fall fashion trends – by surfacing stories that are making news, and topics that are trending in social media. 
• Search & Top Stories: Search allows readers to seek more information across the entire vast archive of magazines.  From gluten-free cooking and electric cars, to golf techniques and presidential candidates, Texture pulls content from the best magazines in the world so readers can get insight and perspective instantly from trusted sources. Top Stories uncovers what's being read by subscribers, inspiring the discovery of great reads across the whole catalog or within specific categories.
• My Collections: After finding the perfect gift idea from Real Simple, or stumbling across Rolling Stone's most recent enthralling cover story, readers can save them to read later or share with friends.
• First Access: Each month, readers can dive into some of the hottest features before they even hit newsstands thanks to an exclusive agreement between Texture and leading publishers, serving up a handful of the most highly anticipated stories only for subscribers.

The freshly expanded editorial team, led by publishing veteran Maggie Murphy, adds an editorial point of view to the experience – a quality unseen in other purely algorithmic services.  

"With over half of a million of the best articles and stories available, Texture feels it is imperative to add a human touch to the service that provides a unique view of today's important and trending topics," said Maggie Murphy, Editorial Director, Next Issue Media. "Auto-populated recommendations from data driven engines are valuable, and we make use of them, but we also think there's an element of trust that happens when your best friend shares their latest favorite article or recipe with you. We want to be that best friend to the reader."

"Texture is bridging the divide between analog and digital, and creating a rich and dynamic premium content experience for readers; it is, in fact, redefining the magazine experience. The strong consumer demand for subscription-based media experiences, such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Spotify Premium, speaks to the opportunity awaiting Texture," said David Carey, President, Hearst Magazines. "The new Texture service is a marvelous way to grow both audience as well as deep engagement given its 'premium content first' focus. We couldn't be more excited about what this means for the future of our business."

Formerly Next Issue, the new Texture brand, logo and platform rollout will be supported by a national ad campaign across print, digital and out of home.

Texture subscriptions start at $9.99/month and are available on iOS, Android and Windows 8 devices, for download through the App Store, Google Play and Windows Store today. 

About Next Issue Media
Since 2010, Next Issue Media has been bringing the world's most popular and trusted magazines to life on the digital device of your choice and fitting them seamlessly into your life. The company is owned by six leading publishers – Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, Meredith, News Corp, Rogers Media and Time Inc., and backed by KKR.

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SOURCE Next Issue Media

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