McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI), Apollo Group Inc (APOL), Pearson PLC (ADR) (PSO): Is the Textbook Market a Sustainable Business?

Looking at other examples from history, the recording industry fumbled the digital transition as they sought to litigate their stronghold against music downloading. Television and movies learned from this, and the networks created Hulu, where they were able to offer a solution that consumers could turn to instead of pirating content while they collected some additional advertising revenue. And now in education, one of the slowest industries to accept change and transform, textbook publishers must find a favorable outcome.

A market top or industry lull
It’s possible McGraw Hill Financial Inc (NYSE:MHFI) sold its education arm at the top of the market. But with recent acquisitions like Pearson PLC (ADR) (NYSE:PSO)’s purchase of EmbanetCompass, which helps colleges move classes online, there’s a sense that one company can become the iTunes of curriculums. And, if so, providing digital services could have much higher margins than printing a book.

 The article Is the Textbook Market a Sustainable Business? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Newman.

Fool contributor Dan Newman has no position in any stocks mentioned, and neither does The Motley Fool. 

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