Novels

• Let's start with the obvious. Books are most often associated with abridgement, and many readers are accustomed to reading shortened version of popular works. The reason many publishers abridge books is to make them more accessible to a wider audience, providing both an easier and faster read, as well as another revenue stream. And though many people think of Reader's Digest condensed fiction, more publishers abridge non-fiction books on subjects such as business and politics rather than novels. Readers prefer the full fiction text, but would rather consume shorter non-fiction, according to Simply Audio Books, a Canadian-based audio book online rental service.
  
  

Audio

• Most novels and other works that are abridged for audio specifically because reading out loud takes longer than reading to oneself. Edits maintain key plot points, character development and themes, but often extract superfluous content. "Moby Dick" is a good example. One chapter focuses exclusively on different types of whales. Easily editable. Audiobook publishers also abridge books for financial reasons. It is much more expensive to produce a 20-hour unabridged audiobook than a six-hour abridged version.
  
  

Television

• Feature films get the abridged treatment when they are shown on commercial television primarily because they must fit into the time allowed. This practice was most common before cable television, when time allotments were strict. Again, scenes not germane to the overall plot or repetitive in nature are usually cut from the program, as are scenes that are considered inappropriate for network audiences.
  
  

Adaptation

• An extension of abridgement for television, when a book or play is adapted into a feature film or two-hour television program, the original work will be abridged to fit the new format. In recent years, the "Harry Potter" series has been extensively abridged when adapted for film. Even with this abridgement, the movie franchise is one of the most successful in film history, and fans of the books find great satisfaction in the shortened story each film tells.