Future joins forces with the Press Association to launch interactive iPad magazine Football Week
International media group and digital publisher Future is to partner with content provider the Press Association (PA) to launch a weekly international iPad magazine for global followers of the English Premier League, Football Week.
Set for release in early February, Football Week will preview every match with full editorial coverage, team news, head-to-head info, player data and the latest stats. Over the weekend these pieces will then be updated with the addition of text commentary, in-game stats and post-match analysis.
Of the launch, Football Week publisher, Mark Cantwell, said: “We truly believe this is the ultimate accompaniment to the weekend’s Premier League action. We have focussed on filling the gaps that traditional media like TV, magazines and websites leave behind, to put the consumer at the heart of everything we do and complete their weekend football experience.”
The publication will benefit from being truly interactive with the up-to-the-second flexibility of a website but the design and packaging of a digital magazine. Substantial development has been made to FutureFolio, Future’s app creation software, to enable Football Week to embellish editorial content with live content feeds.
As the official data partner of the UK professional football leagues, the PA will automatically update Football Week with its live content across the football weekend.
Tony Watson, managing director of the Press Association, commented: “With our content fuelling Football Week, together PA and Future can create new products for new markets at the cutting edge of digital publishing.”
EA SPORTS has also been confirmed as the official gaming partner of Football Week, a dedicated EA SPORTS Zone will feature tips, tactics and competitions around sports game FIFA 13 and its popular game mode FIFA Ultimate Team. EA SPORTS will also promote Football Week to its social media audiences.
Football injury resource PhysioRoom.com is also on board to provide up-to-the-minute injury news, as well as a regular presence in the publication, PhysioRoom.com will also feature heavily on the accompanying Football Week blog.
Future CEO, Mark Wood, added: “Football Week is a unique iPad product and a genuine first for Future. We are moving rapidly outside the boundaries of our traditional business and fusing the best aspects of print and web media together for the tablet.”