After nixing its BlackBerry application last week, The New York Times is placing bigger bets on its mobile site, which will not only impact other large publishers but is also indicative of Research In Motion?s decreasing role in the app marketplace.

The publisher is dropping its BlackBerry app by citing its mobile site as a better reading experience for its users. The move is likely not representative that publishers will completely abandon apps ? instead it shows the dominance of the iOS and Android operating systems, according to analysts.

?We made the decision to allocate resources to the various apps that are favored most by our subscribers and visitors,? said Linda Zebian, manager of corporate communications at the New York Times Company, New York.

?In the case of these devices, our mobile Web site provides a more complete New York Times experience,? she said. ?In fact, a majority of readers who access Times content on BlackBerry devices already do so through the mobile Web.?

?The number of users are accessing our content on mobile platforms continues to increase. Our smartphone news app has been downloaded more than 20 million times and our tablet news app has been downloaded more than five million times. Our mobile Web sees the most traffic obviously, since it is available on all mobile devices.?

Shifting tide
Per Ms. Zebian, mobile is one of the four key areas of investment for the New York Times in 2012. Also on the list are video, international and user engagement.

The New York Times pulled both its BlackBerry and Pre Palm apps from the market on July 25.

As both Apple and Google have become the primary players in the smartphone market, more marketers are pouring money specifically into their iOS and Android apps because that is where users are and where ad money can be driven from.

Other operating systems such as Windows, BlackBerry and Symbian are often much further down the pipeline for publishers ? and a mobile site is often higher on the list of digital plans with its reach across multiple devices.

?This decision is pretty reflective of the overall move of the ecosystem in general and for content owners in particular,? said Jason Armitage, London-based senior analyst at Yankee Group.

?For content owners, apps are a cost area so it comes down to two questions ? how many eyeballs are being brought to content and how much money will it make,? he said. ?What we?ve seen is that there has been a huge surge in Android and iPhone that hasn?t been matched by any other platform.?

Additionally, publishers are eager to push their mobile sites because it gives companies a better perspective on its users and what content readers are clicking on.

The majority of publishers need to be developing both mobile Web sites and apps to get the most exposure, per Mr. Armitage.

BlackBerry ambitions
Given how RIM has been building hype around the release of its BlackBerry 10 operating system, the New York Times might not be completely writing off BlackBerry apps, according to Josh Martin, director of app research for the global wireless practice at Strategy Analytics, Newton, MA.

However, until RIM is able to deliver on its promise, other publishers might follow suit after the New York Times by focusing on a mobile Web-driven experience.

RIM reported in May that its BlackBerry 10 will not be available until next year, which is later than expected and could cost the company valuable users. Additionally, without a set date, marketers and developers might be hesitant to roll out applications for the operating system (see story).

With publisher?s slim margins, less companies may be looking at BlackBerry as a part of a long-term mobile strategy.

?To me it seems like a natural progression where publishers realize that they don?t need well-known APIs,? Mr. Martin said.

?If you?re not seeing enough revenue through an app, HTML5 might make sense,? he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York