As publishers look to diversify their content beyond books, John Wiley & Sons provides a blueprint of sorts in its recently released 10-k report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the fiscal year ended April 30, 2009, Wiley generated revenue, in addition to books, from journals, advertising, the sale of publishing rights, electronic publishing and assorted other sources. Journal and journal-related products represented 51% of Wiley's revenue of $1.61 billion in fiscal '09 with books and related book products generating 49%.
As can be seen on the accompanying charts, journal subscriptions represented 64% of revenue in Wiley's largest segment, the scientific/technical/medical/scholarly division, which now includes Blackwell. Books still accounted for the majority of sales in both the higher education and professional/trade divisions, although both segments generate sales from other material. Higher education in particular saw digital-only sales grow 70% last year and has had gains in WileyPlus, Wiley's integrated suite of teaching and learning materials for the higher education market. In professional/trade, the unit now offers 9,000 of its titles through the Kindle.
