• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, February 6, 2012

New research from GfK MRI's iPanel, composed exclusively of Tablet and eReader owners, reveals that male Tablet owners are particularly interested in reading digital magazines and that Tablets are generating readership of back issues of publications.

According to the GfK MRI iPanel, almost three-quarters (71%) of Tablet owners say they are interested in reading magazines on their device.  Men, in particular, are open to digital magazine reading: 77% of male Tablet owners expressed interest in reading magazines on their device versus 68% of female owners.  Among younger male Tablet owners, ages 18 to 34, 85% expressed interest in reading magazines on their device.

Digital magazines seem to be sparking new reading behavior among consumers, says the report.  19% of Tablet owners who read a magazine on their device in the last 30 days also took the opportunity to read back issues of a title during their reading session, with little difference between genders, as 20% of males having read back issues compared to 19% of females.

Risa Becker, SVP Research at GfK MRI, says "The fact that younger men who own Tablets are interested in reading digital magazines bodes well for digital magazine advertisers, since this demographic has been historically hard to reach."

The most popular way in which Tablet owners read a magazine or magazine-related content is with an App, according to the GfK MRI iPanel:

• 65% of Tablet owners who read a magazine on their device in the last 30 days did so via an App
• 47% of Tablet owners accessed magazine content on their device by visiting a magazine's website
• 37% read a digital reproduction of a magazine, which includes both print content and advertisements.

For additional information, please visit GfK here.