The Toronto Star has revealed that it’s closing its tablet edition, Star Touch. In its place, the publication says it plans to launch a new universal app instead.
Star Touch originally launched back in 2015 and experienced a low readership during its lifespan. In a story published on the Toronto Star‘s website, the publication says the new app will operate on both smartphone and tablets, is designed to work on a variety of platforms and that it will solve many of Star Touch’s key issues.
“In response to feedback, we are announcing that the Star will launch a new universal app that operates both on smartphones and tablets and that offers more of the features that you, our readers, have told us you want: breaking news, constant updates, more content, easy searches and navigation and the ability to share items much more easily on social media,” said John Boynton, president and CEO of Torstar.
The Star claimed back in mid-November that Star Touch has been downloaded more than 100,000 times in its first two months, but never released weekly reader numbers. The publication has an initial goal of attracting 180,000 daily tablet readers by the end of 2016 and launched an aggressive marketing campaign that advertised the tablet publication on bus shelters, billboards and in banner ads.
Torstar, the Star’s parent company, has even opted to sponsor unconventional events like the upcoming 2017 Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX), likely in an effort to attract a different audience to its burgeoning platform.
The last edition of Star Touch will be published on July 31st. The Star also plans to offer a new daily edition tablet experience that seems to replicate the publication’s daily paper in digital form.
Source: The Toronto Star
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