Apple News+, the subscription magazine and news service revealed last week, is already more popular than the service and app based it on, Texture.
Within the first 48 hours of being available, Apple News+ amassed more than 200,000 paid subscribers.
That’s more than Texture had at its peak. The New York Times revealed the figures in a recent report, though Apple hasn’t commented on if they’re legit.
The Times says Textures current subscriber numbers aren’t counted toward Apple’s subscriber numbers, even though Apple will shutdown Texture next month.
Apple News+ offers subscribers access to over 300 magazines a month as well as news articles from sites that have their content behind a paywall. The service has promoted some people to ask where it’s time to cancel subscriptions to their favorite magazines that are carried by Apple News+.
New Yorker editor Michael Luo responded with 13 reasons why customers shouldn’t cancel. Some of the reasons include the fact that not all content will be available in Apple News+, like the crossword puzzle.
The NYT report also revealed that some magazines were pushed into inclusion with Apple News+. Time and
Fortune were locked into Apple News+ by their former owner Meredith, which purchased the two magazines in 2017 and then sold them last year. Some publishers like the Wall Street Journal negotiated terms that allow them more favorable terms for exiting the platform, but not everyone gets the same perks.
Apple News+ will need to grow far beyond 200,000 subscribers to become a serious revenue stream for publishers. Currently it’s only offered in the US and Canada with the UK and Australia getting it later this year. Apple eventually plans to make it available globally though, giving publishers access to the 1 billion Apple devices currently in use and the eyeballs behind them.
