Apple continues to ramp up its ad ambitions. The company is now selling ads directly in Apple News, according to a report from Axios.
Under the new system, publishers will earn 70% of revenue from ads Apple sells within their articles and a portion of revenue from Apple-sold ads in the main news feed, based on reader engagement with their content. Publishers can also continue selling their own ads, keeping 100% of that revenue. Unsold inventory will be available for TBD third-party vendors to sell. Additionally, Apple is rolling out new ad formats in both the main Apple News feed and individual articles.
Why This Matters:
Apple’s ad business isn’t broken out when it reports earnings, but Emarketer estimates Apple’s ad revenue globally will reach $10.34 billion this year.
Recently, Taboola announced a partnership with Apple to sell native inventory for Apple News and Apple Stocks. Who will Apple’s future reseller partners for Apple News be? Outbrain? The Trade Desk? Yahoo DSP? It will be interesting to see how this plays out, though specifics on how large this Apple News ad portion of the business remains a black box.
Experts React:
Analyst Eric Seufert doesn’t see this as anything too noteworthy. “Apple already sold ads in News, just not directly,” he tweeted about the Axios report. “I don’t see this as a meaningful expansion.”
Our Take:
From Safari to ATT to the App Store to Apple Mail, it’s somewhat ironic—though not entirely surprising—that Apple has worked tirelessly to hurt the digital ad industry under the guise of being a “privacy-focused company” while simultaneously building a $10+ billion ad business that relies on end-user data. It’s hypocrisy, but no one seems to care.
