Malcolm Owen
Publishers are objecting to plans by Apple to offer a subscription news service, according to a report, with the revenue distribution between Apple and the publishers themselves seemingly the sticking point preventing the rumored service from taking off.
Apple has been playing around with the idea of offering news as a subscription service since its acquisition of Texture, but so far it seems the publishers aren't playing ball with the iPhone maker's proposal. People familiar with negotiations between Apple and the publishers suggest it may all be down to money.
According to sources of the Wall Street Journal, Apple's pitch to publishers involves keeping roughly half of the proposed $10 monthly subscription. The remainder would be distributed to the publishers offering their content to the service, divided based on the amount of time users are engaged with their articles.
While finances are an important part of the deal, it is not the only thing that is an issue. It is claimed the New York Times and the Washington Post are among the major publications not to license content just yet, allegedly over a number of undisclosed terms.
There is also concern that publishers won't gain access to the same level of data about subscribers than they would from a normal subscription. Information such as credit card details and email addresses are said to be highly useful to news companies, as they can construct their own customer databases that can be used to market other products and services to readers.
It was believed that the relaunch of Texture as a premium option within Apple News would take place in the spring, but the ongoing negotiations suggests this may not be the case.
While still unannounced, there has been some evidence that a subscription service could be waiting in the wings for launch. The first beta of iOS 12.2 includes a section within Apple News called "Apple News Magazines," which is believed to be the rumored subscription service.
There is also the possibility of Apple introducing a News subscription alongside its ongoing original video content project, which is believed to launch sometime this year. It is even suggested Apple may be considering an all-in-one subscription for Apple Music, News, and the video content.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
22 Comments
The question is not if but when for the former print based media to be happy to take whatever they can get in order to stay relevant, not to mention avoid bankruptcy.
With so many options to get news online, and real news not the twisted garbage we get from the mainstream media this doesn't seem like a big winner for Apple.
News providers have been slashing employee counts (even the fairly reputable ones).
I don’t know about magazines, but I haven’t bought one in over a decade...
Texture has to provide some value because they do have some content providers signed up, but 50% sharing sounds high.
Maybe it’s a negotiating point and they’ll settle for 30%.