Apple News on Monday lost one of its largest publishers, as the New York Times has left the platform. The publication says it is leaving Apple’s platform because “Apple had given it little in the way of direct relationships with readers and little control over the business.”
The New York Times shared the news today:
The New York Times said on Monday that it was exiting its partnership with Apple News, as news organizations struggle to compete with large tech companies for readers’ attention and dollars. Starting on Monday, Times stories were no longer appearing alongside other publications’ articles in the curated Apple News feed available on Apple devices.
[…]
The Times is one of the first media organizations to pull out of Apple News. The Times, which has made adding new subscribers a key business goal, said that Apple had given it little in the way of direct relationships with readers and little control over the business. It said it hoped to instead drive readers directly to its own website and mobile app so that it could “fund quality journalism.”
For its part, Apple said only “a few stories a day” were offered by the Times, and that it is “committed to supporting quality journalism.”
An Apple spokesman said that The Times “only offered Apple News a few stories a day,” and that the company would continue to provide readers with trusted information from thousands of publishers. “We are also committed to supporting quality journalism through the proven business models of advertising, subscriptions, and commerce,” he said.
The New York Times did not participate in Apple’s News+ offering, which is a paid subscription for news and magazines.
Despite today’s break up, it sounds as if the two parties will continue to work together on some projects.
In her note to employees, Ms. Levien said exiting the partnership with Apple News was not expected to have “a material impact” to The Times’ business and that the company would work with Apple in other ways, including on apps, podcasts and hardware.
(Via 9to5Mac)
