Right now, the big digital newsstands like Barnes & Noble seem to be focused on developing the content for a broader popular audience first before developing the more niche content areas... On the one hand, this is smart, I mean, they have all the sales data on magazines, and are focusing on the magazines which have the highest demand... But on the other hand, what the sales data doesn't tell you is: if you can capture those niche audiences, for Japanese comicbooks for example, or architects / designers, or golf enthusiasts, or comic book readers, etc. or science fiction fans, etc., you actually can develop a stronger loyal niche customer base... By dominating certain niches, you win loyal fan bases. Case in point: Netflix content... I think what Netflix is realizing lately is that certain content- things like Japanese Anime, and say kids cartoons like Dora or Thomas the Train Engine or old science fiction series like babylon 5 or whatever, or art house cinema, or martial arts action films, actually have the strongest subscriber retention... If you maintain a strong library of content targeting more niche markets, you capture the loyalty of that audience for the long run... Because every other digital newsstand is going to have the new York times for example, and national geographic or people magazine... If you can have more niche and unusual titles, those are the customers who won't abandon you for another device on a whim... IMHO...
