According to the AOP's Content & Trends Census, which surveyed 36 members representing more than 1,500 brands and publications, publishers want to build on existing mobile launches and products, with more planning to launch apps in the next year with a freemium model, where some content and services are offered free of charge ahead of other premium services, than any other charging model.
According to the research, half of those surveyed are already delivering content, both free and paid-for, by mobile applications and one in six have iPad apps. Seventy-two per cent already have mobile websites and a further 25 per cent plan to launch mobile sites in the next year.
The mobile web was identified by 91 per cent of respondants as an opportunity or "major opportunity" for business in the next 12 months. The iPad and other tablets (86 per cent), smartphone adoption (84 per cent) and apps (80 per cent) were also high on the list.
The census suggests that both free and paid-for app launches by publishers are on the rise: only 12 per cent of those surveyed in 2009 had paid-for apps compared with 40 per cent of publishers in 2010; while 37 per cent had free apps in 2009 compared with 60 per cent in 2010.
After mobile, high speed broadband, online communities and social networking, ecommerce, paid content and behavioural targeting were also highlighted.
Publishers were also asked what they thought would be the biggest threats to their businesses in the next year. The economy was cited by 54 per cent of those surveyed - though 70 per cent in 2009 said this was the biggest threat - while 47 per cent of respondents said the BBC.
When asked about what platforms offered the best opportunities for making money, 38 per cent of respondents pointed to their website as the main place for paid content; 19 per cent said iPads and other tablets; while 18 per cent said other mobile apps.
"When talking about the digital landscape, publishers have generally re-affirmed their belief in the traditional online revenue model with eight out of 10 publishers agreeing that advertising will dominate revenue generation for some time yet, despite the growth of interest and support for paid content opportunities where publishers see emerging platforms as pivotal to their growth over the next 12 months," says Tim Cain, head of research and insight of AOP, in a release accompanying the report.
"The second most significant industry viewpoint is that quality recruitment and development of skills are amongst the biggest challenges for the digital publishing industry, which is in line with earlier findings of the Organisation Census from Spring this year".
Revenue and revenue expectations feature more prominently in the AOP's Organisation Census published in spring each year.
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