The survey results from a questionnaire sent out by the ABC earlier this year on mobile are in and unsurprisingly publishers are noting an increase in the sector's importance on their business.

According to the report, 87% of publishers believe mobile is receiving more attention at their publication, up from 70% last year, says ABC Canada vice president and general manager Joan Brehl. Overall, 90% of respondents believe people will rely more on mobile devices as information sources, up 5% from the 2009 survey. Though 65% believe digital delivery is important to the strategic future of their publication, up 10% from last year, 78% disagreed with the statement that their publications would be delivered in digital-only formats within the next five years.

The survey was completed by 350 publishers, 12% of them Canadian and included both magazine and newspaper industries.

In line with the results of its mobile survey, ABC Interactive has announced a partnership with Toronto-based mobile application developer Spreed Inc., who have worked with publications including The Globe and Mail. Publications who use Speed Inc. can now get a detailed report including details such as the number of applications downloaded, unique visitors and page views. “Advertisers will be demanding this sort of third party verification,” says Brehl.

Information from applications developed on Spreed Inc. can be included in ABC’s consolidated media report, or on its m.audit standalone statement.

Some other statistics of note from the ABC mobile survey:

- 79% of larger newspapers and 86% of larger consumer magazines are formatting their sites for viewing on mobile devices.

- 63% believe e-readers will become vital distribution channels for their publication, up from 42% in 2009.

- Respondents listed Apple as their number one e-reader manufacturer, but only 11% indicated they are happy with the analytics and subscriber information they receive from the company.

- 60% of publishers believe e-readers should focus on a business model which relies on both advertising and subscriptions.