Publishers: Tablets are a multi-million-dollar business

Though the publishing industry has been struggling to tread water in recent years, many see the burgeoning tablet market as an opportunity to stay afloat and even spark new life into their business.

Speaking at the American Magazine Conference in New York, a panel of executives from publishing companies Condé Nast and Hearst asserted that tablets will soon become a lucrative business for publishers, fashion website Women's Wear Daily reports.

"If you told me two years ago that we would have a chance of more than $10 million of consumer revenue from digital, we didn’t think it would be possible," says David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines. "That's going to happen before you know it."

Condé Nast president Bob Sauerberg has even higher expectations for tablets, claiming that his company will see $15 million in projected tablet revenue by the end of 2011, according to the news provider.

Tablet users have proven to be more inclined to spend on digital content than smartphone and PC users, as is evident in a September 2011 study from FTI Consulting. According to that study, which polled 1,500 consumers, 53 percent of respondents say they might be willing to pay for online news content.