Yoga Journal Launches Online Video Channel

Columns from the magazine are given the multimedia treatment.

By Bill Mickey
Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Yoga Journal, published by Active Interest Media, announced Tuesday it has launched an online video channel that features instructional content based on the magazine's more popular columns. The site, called LiveMag, will be updated nine times a year to coincide with the print publication. The March 2010 issue is the first to feature the videos.

Columns were selected according to reader popularity, and the videos profile a sequence of poses for instructional purposes.

LiveMag is designed with the idea of bringing the magazine "to life." The landing page features a table of contents and a strong tie-in to the issue the videos are created from. The site is not a standalone destination, but rather a subdomain of YogaJournal.com and retains the parent site's full navigation schematic.

"We have a magazine that's about movement, and to be able to show that movement clearly is a huge benefit for our readers," said Pat Fox, Yoga Journal's general manager. "We could sit around and wait for the perfect digital reader format to do this, but we thought this would be an opportunity to dip our toe in the water."

Print articles feature an icon that directs readers to the Web for multimedia content pertaining to a specific story. Content updates will coincide with the magazine's 9-times publication schedule.

Fox said that they thought about putting the content behind a registration wall, but decided to keep it open using a sponsorship model. "We thought about a wall, we thought about all of it, but then decided at least in the beginning to gauge reader interest and to leave it free and open," she said.

Vitamin maker Rainbow Light is the launch sponsor, and Fox said they've sold another three sponsorships.

Beyond that, as a new issue gets uploaded, previous video content will be moved over to the iAmplify platform where users will be charged to download the archived video content. And at the end of the year, said Fox, Yoga Journal will repackage and sell the videos on DVD.