Apple News+ may soon offer users the option to listen to audio versions of some stories. Digiday says News+ publishers told them that the feature is in the works.
Over the past several months, Apple has been asking the publishers participating in its year-old premium program for permission to produce audio versions of the stories distributed there, according to sources at four different publishers that have heard the pitch.
Apple will handle production costs, and compensate publishers in the same way it compensates them for the written content available on Apple News+, two sources said; Apple metes out 50% of subscriber revenue to publishers based on how much time those subscribers spend with publishers’ content in a 30-day period.
The publishers did not disclose a timetable for when the audio feature might launch.
Publishers continue to be dissatisfied with the revenue earned from Apple News+. One publisher told Digiday that the service generates less than $20,000 per month for them.