The New York Times has confirmed that it has withdrawn from the Apple News network.
The company said that Apple News does not “align with its strategy of building direct relationships with paying readers,” in what will be a major blow for Apple’s news service.
Articles from The New York Times will no longer appear in the Apple News app, and saved articles will also disappear from the service, which will no doubt frustrate Apple News users.
According to The New York Times, Apple has offered “little in the way of direct relationships with readers” and “little control over the business”.
Now that the company has pulled itself from Apple News, it will instead drive readers to its own website and application, where paid memberships are available. Apple News+ was available for $9.99 per month, offering access to hundreds of premium publishers’ content, but The NYT wasn’t part of this service when it launched.
Speaking of their decision to withdraw from Apple News+, Meredith Kopit Levien, chief operating officer, said: “Core to a healthy model between The Times and the platforms is a direct path for sending those readers back into our environments, where we control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers, and the nature of our business rules. Our relationship with Apple News does not fit within these parameters.”
Apple has responded to the news, suggesting that the New York Times only offered a few stories to the platform per day, and confirmed that Apple News will continue to offer readers access to trusted content from thousands of other publishers.
Speaking of the news, an Apple spokesperson said: “We are also committed to supporting quality journalism through the proven business models of advertising, subscriptions, and commerce.”
When Apple launched its premium news service last year, it struggled to convince major publishers to sign up to its platform, including The New York Times.
Although NYT did offer some of its articles for users to read on the platform for free, it had already launched its own subscription service and did not want to confuse its offerings. Today, the publication has more than 6 million subscribers and has managed to grow its revenue despite challenges from ad blockers and other news outlets.
The New York Times added that withdrawing from Apple News would not have a “material impact” on its business, criticizing the firm’s advertising revenue share.
Are you surprised to hear this news? Do you think other publishers will pull out of Apple News in the coming weeks? Let us know your thoughts and check back soon for more.