The New York Times on Wednesday reported The Wall Street Journal plans to join Apple’s much-rumored subscription news service, one of only a few major publications thought to have signed to be included in the news service.
The Wall Street Journal plans to join a new paid subscription news service run by Apple, according to two people familiar with the plans, as other publishers chafe at the terms that the Silicon Valley company is demanding of its partners.
Other major publishers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, have opted out of joining the subscription service, said the people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the plans.
The deal between Apple and WSJ will be announced Monday at Apple’s media event to be held in Cupertino, Calif. At the event, Apple is expected to debut a subscription news and magazine service, as well as a new streaming television service.
The news service, referred to by some as a “Netflix for news,” will offer access to a new paid-tier of Apple News that will offer articles from hundreds of participating magazines and news outlets. The free tier of the service, already in operation, will offer a smaller selection of select articles from a variety of publishers.
While Apple has pushed the new paid service as a way to introduce millions of new customers to the news publishers’ paid content via the company’s iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, publishers have been reluctant to partner with Apple due to Apple’s 50% cut of subscription revenue, which is expected to be $10 per month.
Publishers also don’t like the idea that Apple will keep important customer data – such as credit cards, email addresses and other subscriber information – from them.
