Apple acquired the Texture digital magazine subscription service in March 2018. Apple launched its replacement in March this year: Apple News+. But some publishers are not too happy with the change, it turns out.
After Apple acquired Texture, the company had to go around and talk to publishers again, withdrawing deals and working on new ways with the subscription service to get those publications on board. Apple made promises along the way, but it turns out that publishers hoped the results would not have met the mark altogether.
Multiple publishers have been unhappy with Apple News+’s revenue since its debut earlier this year, according to Business Insider. Apparently, Apple was planning an enormous increase in revenue, up to 10 times what they originally got with Texture, and that hasn’t bothered so far:
One publishing exec said Apple projected publishers would get 10 times the revenue they made from Texture at the end of Apple News Plus’ first year. “It’s one twentieth of what they said,” the exec said. “It isn’t coming true.
Other publishers point out that their revenue with Apple News+ so far is actually lower than what they received with Texture, and in other cases the same as the first subscription service.
Other publishers said their subscription revenue from Plus was lower than or on a par with what they got on Texture, which was small as a subscription driver to begin with.
There’s a silver lining, though. Some executives in publishing have stated that Apple is actually asking for input on the service, with the aim of making changes to help improve things across the board. Apple has even admitted that the differences between free articles and paid content confuse some Apple News+ users.
One publisher event said they don’t think Apple puts all its energy behind Apple News+, saying they’re unhappy with the news content layout, and some executives want an easier way to convert magazine content to the app.
Apple is working to make the app more user-friendly, and it certainly sounds like the company is trying to make changes that not only help users but also make publishing executives happy.
