CF11 iPAD EDITION ONLY £2.49

Club News

Cardiff City unveils their first tablet based match programme with abannan, costing only £2.49 and available the day before most matches.

The club has marked a significant football milestone by releasing this season's first rich media iPad match-day programme app. Thanks to an innovative partnership between the club and specialist software developers abannan, fans can now download the programme from the Friday night opening season game against Huddersfield Town to their iPad tablets. 

The app can be downloaded directly onto the iPad from Apple's iStore, costing less than a traditional programme at only £2.49.

The project with Cardiff City is the latest application of publishing software developed by abannan to provide tablet users with an on-screen reading experience that is as natural as the printed page, but which also provides the opportunity for a wide range of rich content. Until now such content has only been available at a cost from third party sites. Downloadable features built into the abannan software will ensure that supporters are updated with real time club developments, along with introducing new and innovative features as the season develops. 

Colin Bennett, managing director of abannan, said: "We recognise that the printed match-day programme is a very traditional part of football and will probably stay around for quite a while. However we believe fans will warm to the exciting new experiences that the tablet version will bring."

An added advantage is that the tablet version of the match programme can be made available to supporters all over the world at the same time as it is received by the local fans.

This will be significant for Cardiff City in particular, whose Malaysian owners are keen to build a large fan base for the club across Asia. It will also give the club a global advertising platform that can generate income from major international brands.

Mr Bennett said: "Our work with Cardiff City represents a new development in how forward thinking clubs can communicate with their supporters. It is inspiring to work with a Club who are determined to innovate in order to ensure they meet the needs of their fan-base."


Barrie McAuliffe, Cardiff City FC Media & Communications Manager added: "We are delighted to begin a new digital delivery partnership with abannan, not only for the fact that their programme application far exceeds others we have seen in terms of value and presentation, but also due to their being a local Welsh company with a bright future. We are sure all supporters, including visiting fans will enjoy the media rich and affordable results, while we also look forward to using this app to help develop Cardiff City awareness internationally."

The digital match programme will release for iPad with full touch screen support, with a version for Mac and PC available on the same day.

abannan believes its software solution will not only significantly enhance match-dayprogrammes, but will also make reading all publications on tablets as natural as the paper equivalent. It will also open the door to making other dynamic content a routine reader experience. abannan's software allows publishers to effortlessly optimise the content to offer a higher quality, slicker experience, designed specifically for a tablet's faster processor that will not only impress print readers, but also has the power to attract new ones.


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For further information, please contact Matthew Parr at Working Word on 02920 646840 or email:matthew.parr@workingword.co.uk

Notes to editors: The Cardiff City F.C. match-day programme will be available to download from the Apple iStore and also appears in the abannan News Rack , priced at £2.49

abannan is a brand new company that is bringing a new and unique proposition to publishers for digital hosting and distributing of B2B and Special Interest Consumer Magazines.

The system introduces targeted advertising to a range of readers across the spectrum of B2B and special interest magazines that has the potential to drive new and incremental revenues back to the publishers.

While using PDF as the base file format, they believe that the content is better supported by redesigning the platform specifically for an iPad/tablet format, allowing it to be fully optimised.

Their hosting and distribution solution is primarily for tablets, specifically iPads, but the digital publication will be deliverable to a PC or Mac for readers using a desktop computer.

Each magazine registered with abannan receives its own App in the Apple iStore and also appears in the Abannan News Rack, making each magazine visible to readers and advertisers alike. There is no development cost for the publishers to pay for their App, offering thousands of pounds of saving per publication.

Advertisers need to register with abannan to view all of the magazines hosted in order to select what publication they would like to advertise with and also the specific readers they would like to target. The targeting is based on some simple questions the subscribers answer when they opt-in to the service as readers.

Readers download the free abannan App. Each time a new title is published the reader is notified by email,they enter the abannan app and download the title, at which point the targeted advertising is seeded into the individual edition based on which advertisers wish to reach them according to the identifying details entered. Publishers retain the power to veto any advertisers they do not wish to be part of the publication.

For more information about abannan please call Kate Jones on 07850 264226