Business Insider reports Apple News+ revenues aren’t rolling in the way Apple promised publishers at the start. Multiple publishers are unhappy with the revenue being generated by Apple’s subscription-based news and magazine service.
One publisher told BI that the revenue was 1/20th the promised revenue, while another says the revenue is on par with what was being earned with Texture, which is isn’t much.
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 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.
Some publishing executives report the Apple News+ team has been eager for input during meetings held since the service’s launch. Apple is said to have admitted that Apple News readers are confused as to the difference between free and paid news content.
The magazine-like layout of the news content displeases publishers, and they’re pushing for easier ways to convert their magazine content to app content. Admittedly, the service is still in in its infancy, and it will take some time to work out issues.
Apple is said to have assured publishers that it’s working on making the Apple News+ app more intuitive, hopefully bringing refinements to the interface that will make it easier to navigate through.