The takeaways
- The New York Times has announced that it will no longer share its content on Apple News in order to engage their readers directly on their own platform.
- The publisher previously shared a select few articles to the free version of Apple’s service.
- The Times is the largest publisher to leave the app in 3 years.
What happened?
Yesterday, the New York Times announced that, as of today, it will no longer distribute articles in the Apple News app. The publisher stated that the deal “does not align with our strategy to fund quality journalism by building direct relationships with paying readers.”
The Times cited a memo announcing the change by its chief operating officer Meredith Kopit Levien, who described the paper’s desire to “control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers, and the nature of our business rules.” The memo confirmed that the publisher would continue to work with Apple in other areas such as apps and podcasts.
The Times previously shared a few free daily articles to Apple News, which offers more news content in its free version than its News Plus monthly subscription service. In departing the service, the Times is one of the largest publishers to leave since The Guardian left in 2017 only to rejoin in March this year.
Getting closer to readers
In ending its Apple News partnership, The Times aims to drive readers back towards their own platform as the media industry faces increasing cuts and business pressures. Articles shared to Apple News do not redirect to the original publisher’s platform and the app operates a stringent policy regarding what it hosts.
Though the free Apple News service reputedly has over 125 million daily users, the company believes that the loss of the Times won’t significantly alter the overall content available to readers. It remains to be seen whether the Times’ announcement could lead other publishers to follow suit.
