Zinio, NACS Media Solutions Partner to Create First Collegiate Digital Newsstand

NEW YORK and OBERLIN, Ohio, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Zinio, the world's leader in digital publishing, technology, distribution, and services, and NACS Media Solutions (NMS), a subsidiary of the National Association of College Stores (NACS), today announced a partnership to develop the first all-digital online newsstand directed specifically at the college market. Featuring 3,000-plus magazines and books suitable for reading through Zinio's UNITY™ platform, which enables on-line or offline access on any PC, iPhone, iPad, and upcoming supported devices, the newsstand will break new ground by taking the world of reading to the platforms most popular with the Digital Generation.

The new collegiate digital newsstand, which will carry "Powered by Zinio" branding, will include a revenue-sharing arrangement for NACS members who wish to promote the site to their local college students. At a future point, Zinio and NMS anticipate developing private-label versions for NACS members who decide to deploy and promote their own digital newsstands.

By entering into the partnership, NMS is leveraging the strength of the global leader in digital and interactive publishing products and services. Zinio is a worldwide digital content distributor whose publishing partners include such top-tier media names as Hearst, Bonnier, IDG, Hachette Filipacchi, McGraw-Hill, Rogers Media, and Wenner Media. The Zinio global newsstand offers more than 75,000 of the world's most popular digital magazines and books, to virtually every country in the world, in more than 24 different languages.  

"In today's world, digital is increasingly the format of choice for college students. The NACS digital newsstand is an exciting development that we believe will acquaint, or reacquaint, students with an amazing selection of content," said Ed Schlichenmayer, President of NACS Media Solutions. "This is a true opportunity for college stores in that it will be an intuitive offering for our members' core customers."

"Zinio is committed to extending the new era in digital publishing to the broadest possible audience," added Richard Maggiotto, Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Zinio. "Our partnership with NACS Media Solutions is a natural fit. This is a highly mobile, technologically savvy audience that is incredibly comfortable with digital content. The platforms and reading habits of the college market makes it perfect for a digital newsstand. We expect very positive results from our collaboration with NACS and NMS."

The National Association of College Stores (NACS) is a nonprofit trade association representing the $10 billion collegiate retailing industry. More than 3,000 stores serving colleges and universities, as well as K-12 schools, in the United States, Canada, and around the world, are members of NACS, along with more than 1,000 companies supplying goods and services to campus stores.

"Digital publishing is growing at lightning speed—and for college bookstores digital magazines and books directed specifically at college students are still vastly undersupplied categories," said Mark Nelson, Ph.D., Vice President for Strategy and Development of NMS. "NMS is excited to take part in a solution that enables students to easily purchase books and magazines designed specifically for consumption on all of their digital devices, whether in the dorm or on the move."

The Zinio-powered NACS digital newsstand will debut in August 2010 at (http://nacs.zinio.com). At the newsstand, users will be able to subscribe to periodicals and purchase books in hundreds of categories covering all interests. Students will have the ability to preview the newsstand's digital content before purchasing. Any purchase made on this newsstand will be available for reading on any device where a Zinio app is installed.

NACS members interested in learning more about the new NACS digital newsstand can contact Liz Hains at 518-445-6345 or [email protected].  

About NACS Media Solutions:

NACS Media Solutions LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Association of College Stores (NACS) and is headquartered in Oberlin, OH, USA. Founded in 2008, NACS Media Solutions and its network of partners develops and supports technology and content solutions that enable collegiate retailers to become an effective and vibrant channel for the delivery of digitally-enhanced products and services, helping to support faculty choice and redefining the learning experiences of college students. For more information go to: www.nacsmediasolutions.com.

About Zinio:

Zinio, the world's newsstand, is revolutionizing reading. Through digital products and services, the company creates better ways for people to discover published content, get more of it, and do more with it. Zinio works closely with publishers worldwide to reinvent reading. For consumers, Zinio enables the ability to shop for, search inside, read, share, and save digital content in new ways and on many devices. With more than 60,000 digital magazines and books, and e-stores localized in 15 languages, zinio.com is the largest newsstand in the world. Founded in 2001 and privately held, Zinio is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in New York, London, Paris, Barcelona, and Taipei.

SOURCE Zinio