- The New York Times has removed its content from Apple News.
- The Times’ COO said in a memo that Apple News was not sending readers directly to The Times, and did not allow the newspaper to control the presentation of its reports.
- Apple News removes 30% of subscriptions made through its application.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
The New York Times has distanced itself from Apple News.
The newspaper announced Monday, June 29, that it was ending its partnership with Apple, saying that Apple News stopped the Times from connecting directly with readers and reduced its control over the placement of its articles.
“The core of a healthy model between The Times and the platforms is a direct path to send those readers back to our environments, where we control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers and the nature of our business rules,” New York Times chief operating officer Meredith Kopit Levien said in a memo to staff.
Apple News, launched in 2015, is an application that features news from the mainstream media, selected and posted by human curators. It was touted as a way for publishers to grow their business at a time when technology platforms were turning over traditional sources of income.
The New York Times business model focuses heavily on reader subscriptions, and Apple removes 30% of subscriptions purchased through Apple News. This is because Apple requires in-app payments to use the company’s own payment system, which charges a 15-30% commission.
In a statement to Business Insider, an Apple spokesman said the newspaper only sent “a few stories a day.”
“We are also committed to supporting quality journalism through proven business models of advertising, subscription and commerce,” the spokesperson said, adding that Apple News has more than 125 million users.
