Apple's gamble on magazines last year after buying Netflix from magazines, Texture, appears to be not having the success that the company and publishers hoped for. Various publishers have previously claimed that what Apple promised to be a panacea has turned into a nightmare.
This week, other editors have returned to comment on their opinion of Apple News +. Most of them claim that they don't see Apple News + as the cure for everything they were waiting for. While it is true that this platform allows them to reach a wider audience, most say that it is having very little impact on the bottom line.
An executive from DigiDay magazine says that "we are happy to be there because it is a way to increase subscription income, but it is not a great help for our business, it is not really relevant." The revenue they are making is not significant enough to automatically renew their contract with Apple for 2020.
MoAnna Luu, Essence's chief content and creative officer, says that growing subscriptions was one of the main reasons this publication joined Apple News +. At the moment he says that the results are not being bad, since it has allowed him to increase his audience outside the United States.
A few weeks ago, the head of the Condé Nast publishing group, stated that the "jury was out" implying that it is the end user who is evaluating this service, a service that for the moment has not had the approval of the general public interested in a magazine subscription.
After the initial 48 hours, Apple announced that it had reached 200.000 subscribers, figures that Apple has not updated and according to many publishers. Various rumors suggest that Apple is studying uniting all its entertainment services in an annual subscription where Apple News +, Apple Music and Apple TV + would be.
