Apple acquired the “Netflix of magazines” last month, and it’s now planning to create its own premium news service.
Bloomberg reports that Apple’s Texture acquisition will see the service, which offers more than 200 magazines for $9.99 a month, combined into Apple’s News team.
A new Apple News app will reportedly launch within the next year, and offer a subscription with a percentage of revenue shared to publishers.
Apple has tried a similar approach before. Apple killed its Newsstand app in favor of Apple News, and the original app used to offer digital versions of newspapers and magazines.
Apple also previously partnered with News Corporation to create The Daily, an iPad-only news publication. News Corp eventually shuttered The Daily after nearly two years, blaming a lack of audience to create a sustainable business model.
Apple’s latest attempt appears to be targeting a subscription offering for multiple magazines, much like the company’s Music streaming service. The effort will rely on an appetite for paying for quality news sources, something that publishers have been trying with their own “pay wall” options.
Bloomberg reports that publishers will be offered a slice of the subscription revenue, but it’s not clear how much Apple will be willing to share.
Apple currently takes a 15 percent revenue cut from app subscriptions in the company’s App Store, and it takes a 30 percent slice for regular app sales.
