Apple News head Liz Schimel stepping down
Apple News head Liz Schimel is stepping down less than a year after the launch of Apple’s pay-monthly Apple News+ subscription service amid publisher complaints about the platform and an overall lack of momentum since it launched last March.
Apple News+ has struggled to adopt paying users so far, with the service charging users $9.99 per-month ($5 more than Apple TV+) for access to hundreds of magazines and newspapers.
Reports have previously said publishers are widely unhappy with Apple News+, referring to the platform as ‘unfinished’.
Citing “people familiar with the move”, Bloomberg claims Schimel was in charge of overseeing relationships with publishers and advertisers during her time with Apple News.
Liz Schimel, the outgoing executive, joined in mid-2018 after serving as the president of international business at magazine publisher Conde Nast, said people familiar with the move who asked not to be identified discussing personnel matters. At Apple, Schimel oversaw relationships with advertisers and news publishers.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently touted Apple News has over 100 million monthly active users, although it is unknown how many of those subscribe to Apple News+.