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SAN FRANCISCO – The Wall Street Journal is considering joining a new fee-based subscription service run by Apple, according to two people aware of the projects, while other publishers are offending conditions that the Silicon Valley company requires from its partners.
Other major publishers, such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, have decided not to join the subscription service, said those people, who had requested anonymity because they were not allowed to join the subscription service. they were not allowed to speak publicly about these projects.
Apple and the Wall Street Journal plan to announce this deal Monday at a media event at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. The event aims to draw attention to the company's bet on information and entertainment, including a streaming service competition with Netflix, Amazon and HBO.
The service, described by some as a "Netflix for news", will provide access to a new paid level of the Apple News application. Through this level, readers will be able to use articles from hundreds of participating magazines and newspapers. The free level of the app will still allow people to read a few selected articles from a wide variety of publishers.
To convince publishers to join the paid service, Apple executives said the size of Apple News, installed on every iPhone sold to consumers, could introduce millions of new customers into their content.
But according to the most recent terms proposed by Apple to publishers, Apple is asking for a reduction of about half the revenues generated by subscriptions. Apple has also asked publishers to give unlimited access to all their content, which has worried many potential partners, they said. A subscription should cost $ 10 a month.
Some publishers shrank due to the terms of the agreement, a 50% discount being higher than the usual 30% used by Apple for apps and subscriptions sold through its App Store. Publishers also fear that they will not have access to important consumer data – credit cards, e-mail addresses, and other subscriber information – as part of the transaction.
Representatives from Apple, the Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post declined to comment. Certain transaction conditions had already been reported by Recode and the Wall Street Journal.
While sales of Apple's flagship product, the iPhone, are starting to slow, the company is expanding into different software-based companies, which typically have higher profit margins and do not rely on supply chains and of manufacture.
Publishers have also sought to expand beyond their core subscribers, finding new audiences on non-traditional platforms and entering into agreements with technology companies. Apple has been collaborating with news agencies for years on its Apple News product, offering consumers premium content for free.
But publishers are wary of some partnerships in recent years, as past relationships with companies like Facebook, Medium and others have deteriorated. In the past, Facebook had signed agreements with publishers to fund or support new initiatives, only to quickly change plans and reduce support from one year to the next.
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