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Condé Nast’s CEO still isn’t sure about the impact of Apple News Plus

Condé Nast’s CEO still isn’t sure about the impact of Apple News Plus

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But denies that it’s harmed Condé’s own subscription services

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Condé Nast’s CEO Roger Lynch thinks that Apple’s premium magazine service, Apple News Plus, has yet to prove itself, Variety reports. Speaking at Recode’s Code Media conference in Los Angeles the CEO said that “the jury is out” on Apple’s $9.99 a month subscription service. Condé Nast currently provides a number of its publications through Apple News Plus, including Wired, The New Yorker, GQ, and Vogue. 

Apple launched its magazine subscription service earlier this year to a host of op-eds on whether it represented a good or a bad deal for embattled publishers. Concerns were raised that Apple’s 50-percent cut of revenue was too high, and that Apple News Plus, which bundles over 300 publications into a single subscription, risked cannibalizing publisher’s own subscription services.

“The jury is out”

Lynch’s comments suggest that it’s too early to tell whether the service has been good or bad for the publishing industry. “I hope Apple News Plus is wildly successful,” the CEO said. “Whether it’s good for publishers like us or not is to be determined.” However, Lynch was more clear in responding to concerns that Apple’s service could undercut existing pay-walled services, noting that “We haven’t seen that effect.”

In recent months, Apple has expanded its news subscription service, which launched in the UK and Australia at the end of September. Reports claim that even bigger changes could be on the way next year, with Bloomberg reporting that Apple could combine News Plus with its other subscription services, such as Apple TV Plus and Apple Music, as early as next year.