“Conde Nast CEO Roger Lynch told the audience of Recode’s Code Media conference that he hadn’t made up his mind yet about Apple’s news subscription service,” Janko Roettgers writes for Variety:
“I think the jury is out,” Lynch said, adding that he had inherited Conde Nast’s deal with Apple from his predecessor. “I hope Apple News Plus is wildly successful,” Lynch said. “Whether it’s good for publishers like us or not is to be determined.”
The service offers consumers access to hundreds of magazines and newspapers for around $10 a month. The service signed up 200,000 paying subscribers within 48 hours after its launch, but CNBC recently reported that the company has been struggling to expand its audience beyond those early numbers.
He declined to comment on specifics of Conde Nast’s deal with Apple, but suggested that the company ultimately could sever ties with Apple if News Plus wasn’t working out. “Over time, we have options,” Lynch said.
MacDailyNews Take: Bring on Apple Prime! A bundle like that, if Apple can work out the deals and they’re attractive enough to consumers, will only help Apple’s individual services like Apple News+ to gain subscribers.