Tuesday, January 24, 2012

NBC News having stakes in E-Book Publishing

Jumbo Editorial Team

Book Publishing, whether conventional one or the growing electronic one, seems destined to stay and flourish. The famed NBC News has now landed in the territory of E-Book Publishing.

The E-books are very much in demand hence attracting the entrepreneurs desiring diversification. NBC News has announced plans to launch NBC Publishing, a venture dedicated to releasing interactive e-books for tablets and e-readers.

According to reports, the project will be spearheaded by NBC News and will leverage NBC's existing content assets from shows like Dateline, NBC Nightly News, Today, Peacock Productions, and NBC's archives as well as network and film properties including Telemundo, NBC Sports, and Universal Pictures. The plan is to launch at least 30 new e-book titles in the first year.

NBC Vice President, Michael Fabiano, has reportedly been appointed General Manager of NBC Publishing and the company has hired two publishing veterans to lead its new efforts: Peter Costanzo, previously with F+W Media and Perseus Books Group, has been named creative director, and Brian Perrin, most recently with Rodale, has been named director of digital development..

"In general, text will come from titles already published, direct relationships with authors, and in some cases from the staff of NBC News. We will also utilize a network of freelance professionals as needed," Michael Fabiano, was quoted as saying.

The NBC Publishing website, uploaded last month, currently only displays a "coming soon" message, along with the new e-book venture logo. The headquarters will be based in the heart of the publishing industry, New York City, but many of the e-book titles are likely to include a wide variety of video content sourced from the group's vast library of content.

This move on the part of NBC News is just the latest in a new trend by traditional media channels, such as The Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg Businessweek, to quickly take advantage of the growing popularity of the tablets and e-readers with repurposed content.

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