Apple has rolled out its News+ service in Australia, adding local titles from News Corp and Bauer.
Included in the service, for $A14.99 a month, are News Corp titles such as The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Advertiser and Vogue, along with others such as Elle, Harper’s Bazaar Australia, GQ and Australian Geographic.
International publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times and Grazia are also available locally.
“Apple News+ offers hundreds of the world’s most popular publications, all discoverable through personalised and curated recommendations,” says Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News.
“The quality of the journalism, the beautiful photography, the stunning live covers and custom-designed articles in this collection are second to none.”
Australian publishers have largely welcomed Apple’s news service, particularly News Corp which has been vocal about having US tech giants pay for news publishers’ content.
“We are proud to partner globally with a company that truly believes in the profundity of provenance and that there should be a premium for premium journalism,” says Robert Thomson, News Corp chief executive.
“Apple has acted positively, honorably and decisively to change the digital landscape, while other gatekeepers, such as Google, prefer hype and hypocrisy.”
Local News Corp boss Michael Miller says it will use News+ to boost subscriber numbers.
“Our partnership with Apple makes commercial and strategic sense,” Miller says. “It recognises the importance and value of world-class journalism, bringing us new readers and reinforcing that quality journalism should be paid for. This relationship ticks the boxes and is a logical step for News Corp Australia partnership.”
Magazine houses Bauer and Pacific, part of Seven West Media, says the service is an opportunity to reach new audiences.
“Apple News+ is an exciting evolution of the immersive print media experience,” says Sarah-Belle Murphy, Bauer’s executive general manager of digital operations and publishing.
“The ability to reach millions of readers seamlessly through Apple’s ecosystem presents an innovative future for both magazines and the subscription model.”
Apple News+ originally launched in the US and Canada in March 2019. News+ is part of the tech company’s extended services such as TV+ and gaming service Apple Arcade.
However, Nine, publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review and more, says it opted not to participate.
“We have chosen not to participate in Apple News+ because their non-negotiable terms do not sustain a significant investment in quality, independent journalism,” a Nine spokesperson says.
“We remain focused on successfully growing our direct subscriptions business and investment in our newsrooms.”
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