Flipboard Set to Focus on TV & Film

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If you think Flipboard‘s ambitions begin and end with getting news and magazine publishers on its iPad app, think again. The so-called “social newsreading magazine” is setting its sights on TV and film.

In an interview with Reuters, CEO Mike McCue suggested that the company will begin working to bring video to the app by the end of the year, something investor Ashton Kutcher no doubt has a hand in.

Whether McCue means video will appear in the app by the end of the year or that he will spend the next five months formalizing contracts with studio partners is unclear.

McCue also said he hopes to work with publishers to sell ebooks through Flipboard, although a spokesperson said the company doesn’t have “any concrete plans” to get books onto Flipboard at this time.

“We get asked about various kinds of content in Flipboard all the time, and our answer is that we can envision all types of content becoming viewable via Flipboard over time, especially as all content becomes more social,” says Christel van der Boom, who handles communications at Flipboard. “It’s our vision for the future.”

McCue also said that he hopes to launch an iPhone version in a few weeks — and that the company could make an operating profit next year but will likely reinvest the money instead.

For now, the Palo Alto-based startup will continue to work with news and magazine publishers to bring their content onto the app. Last month, Flipboard began displaying ads for the first time as part of a shared revenue deal with magazine publisher Conde Nast.

More About: Film, Flipboard, ipad, media, tv

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