Apple decided to take on Flipboard with the addition of the company’s News app in iOS 9, but according to publishers, the news aggregation service has been a huge disappointment so far.
Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp ripped the serviced last week, and based on a report from DigiDay, other top publishers are also frustrated with the traffic they’re getting from the service that’s only been out for two months.
The addition of the News app to iOS 9 was supposed to be a big boon for publishers by putting content directly in front of tens of millions of iOS users. Apple says the app already has 40 million users, however most users simply haven’t adjusted to using the app to get news instead of going to Facebook, Flipboard, or other aggregators.
“I don’t think this app will compete with Flipboard and wouldn’t be surprised if Apple stops updating/supporting it by end of next year,” one industry exec told DigiDay. “News aggregation is tough, and while they don’t necessarily need the revenue, it’s not a good business.”
Apple provides publishers with a weekly data report that includes page views and shares. Publishers want a dashboard that can be used to see real-time data on demand though, plus more demographic data on users that helps sell ads to advertisers.
comScore tags were supposed to be added to Apple News to give publishers better tools. The feature has been delayed though, prompting many publishers to wonder why Apple pushed out an unfinished product instead of making a solid platform to compete with Flipboard.
“They’re not generating a ton of views or traffic, and the data they provide is basically nonexistent,” another publisher said. “They claim they’re working out kinks, and they probably will. I’m disappointed, but I’m not giving up on it.”
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
11 responses to “Publishers pan Apple News as a big disappointment”
Methinks that publishers doth protest too much. I’d bet that publishers are seeing that Apple News is taking off, but that instead of driving users to their websites, it is usurping their traditional web traffic and blocking their access to user information. Publishers are getting nervous and trying to knife the baby.
I agree completely. They are crying because of losing access to all that user info. Too bad. I can’t support Apple more in their crusade to keep my info private! This will blow some people away, but keeping my data private is much more important to me then what my phone looks like… Its just gravy that Apple makes the best looking phones around.
Publishers aren’t the only people disappointed. I am an avid user of Flipboard, and I did want to like Apple News. Hopefully it will get better. It falls short in almost every way possible.
I find myself going back and forth between the two. I have a channel set up in Flipboard that has all my tech news and I can get in fast and see if anything new is out. But when I have more time, I like Apple News as it seems to bring in better stories from places I don’t always frequent, as well as my old standbys. I love the NY Times evening briefings.
No matter how often I refresh, “Top Stories” on Apple News are never more recent than two weeks old. TWO WEEKS?! Until Apple deals with the fact that the service does not provide up to the minute news, it’s as useful as a pile of old newspapers.
Try tapping on the words “Top Stories” at the top of the page. I have the same issue, but this fixes it every time for me. Just refreshing doesn’t bring me to the most recent stories (which is dumb).
Mine updates. You must be using it wrong.
It could be an issue that I’m using it in Australia (which is supported by Apple News, apparently). But I press the title of the news topic or publication (Top Stories, Cult of Mac) at the top of the app, I also swipe down and although it says it’s ‘looking for new stories’ none arrive more recently than two weeks ago. So I’m not using it wrong, I’m using it exactly how I was instructed and it just doesn’t work.
if the publication feed does not update, it’s a problem with their feed. Most likely a caching problem with WordPress
Reach out to that publication on Twitter to make them aware.
I switch between Apple News and Flipboard and i find flipboard better in aggregation and graphics layout. the only advantage i have gotten out of Apple News so far is the ability to read from publishers that has paywalls for free i.e WSJ, WAPO etc, while on Flipboard and Google Play News, one will be blocked after reading 10 articles per month.
Apple News also has issues with loading new stories effectively and again the fact that it is not a stand alone app will affect the update, thus having to wait for a general IOS update.
Moreso, Apple News being only on Iphone is an issue as the reach is only limited to Iphones compared to Flipboard that is on all mobile OS and web
You’re able to block sources now
Tap on the source/article share sheet > Mute Source