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Less than two years after its launch, Diamond Comic Distributors is to close Diamond Digital, its digital comics storefront solution created in partnership with iVerse Media.
The closure was announced to retailers via email last week, with the reason given being that “18 months after its launch, results indicate that Diamond Digital has not gained enough traction in the marketplace to continue.”
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The official closure date is February 28, although any content purchased through the service will remain available to readers via iVerse’s Comics Plus app. Retailers will receive full compensation for sales made through the Feb. 28 date, the email explained.
Diamond Digital launched on July 23, 2012, more than a year after its announcement, as a way for comic store retailers to benefit from the growth of the digital market. The program offered material from publishers including IDW, Image Comics and Boom! Studios, but the absence of material from either Marvel or DC — and the dominance in the digital market of ComiXology, which had launched its own retailer storefront program almost a year earlier — meant that it struggled to find a sizable audience.
Diamond declined to comment on the closure when contacted by THR.
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