Pearson launches Netflix-style subscription for textbooks in US

Pearson launches a Netflix-style subscription model for its digital textbooks in the US

Pearson has launched a Netflix-style subscription model for its digital textbooks in the US. 

For £11 per month, students will be able to access books from the UK-based publisher through an ‘all-you-can-eat’ online model. 

Pearson will target the 10m US college and university students who use a Pearson textbook or online learning tool every year. 

Booking in: For £11 per month, students will be able to access books from the UK-based publisher through an ‘all-you-can-eat’ online model

Chief executive Andy Bird is hoping the offering will revive the FTSE 100 group by building life-long relationships with learners. 

Bird, who took the reins at the publisher in October, said that the Pearson+ service had the same intuitive interface that students have come to expect from music and movie streaming apps. 

The subscription model has become a trend, with the publishing company following the success of Netflix and Bird’s former employer Disney, which launched Disney+ in 2019. 

The publishing titan also reported a 17 per cent rise in sales to £1.6billion in the first six months of the financial year and a profit of £127m – compared with a loss of £23m a year ago. 

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