Britannica will now go out only in digital

Less and less known publications continue to be published on paper, many prefer the "figure." Now some very famous and old newspapers and magazines are no longer published on paper, but their digital versions are regularly updated. The encyclopedia Britannica is now among those “fans of the number,” whether it is voluntary or involuntary. The history of this encyclopedia, by the way, has about 250 years (244, to be exact), and it is quite significant that now Britannica is still moving to a number.

For publishers, the figure is much more convenient than paper. This is the possibility of editing right up to the moment of publication, and an easy way to distribute content, and cheapness, and much more. Interestingly, the management of the company, which is engaged in the release of the encyclopedia, for a long time already decided to move to the "figure." But plans for the transition have been implemented only now.
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Of course, not only the desire to keep up with the times played a role. The main motive, as far as can be understood, is nevertheless commerce and merchantability of the publication. So, 22 years ago, in 1990, more than 120 thousand copies of the encyclopedia were sold. But 2 years ago, in 2010, only 8500 copies of Britannica were purchased. What is there in 2011 - not reported, apparently, absolutely everything is bad. It is clear that this kind of activity does not bring income. According to the management, now the sale of the digital version of Britannica brings about 15% of the income, and the paper version - only 1%. Everything else is earned through the production and sale of various kinds of educational publications (mainly digital).

It is interesting that the management of Encyclopaedia Britannica does not consider Wikipedia as its competitor. First of all, because articles in Britannica are written exclusively by experts. Well, and in “Wikipedia”, despite all the efforts of the authors and editors, annoying mistakes and mistakes slip all the same often. Yes, and it is not so much to subscribe to Britannica (relatively, of course). The cost of an annual subscription is about $ 70 - many people can afford such expenses.

Via nytimes.com