Just a couple of weeks after Apple TV+ officially launched to the public, Bloomberg reports that Apple is considering bundling Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple News+ as soon as 2020 in order to attract more subscribers. This plan has been rumored for quite some time, but sources say that Apple has made deals with publishers that would allow the company to bundle the news subscription service with its other digital offerings.
As it stands, Apple News+ costs $10 a month, granting access to dozens of newspapers and magazines which are said to receive about 50% of the subscription cost. If Apple News+ were to be part of a bundle, the publishers would have to take a smaller cut of the subscription, as the price of the service will likely be reduced when bundled.
Apple TV+ costs $4.99 a month and can be shared between six users, while an Apple Music individual plan is $9.99 a month, and an Apple Music Family Sharing plan is $14.99 a month. Altogether, it would cost $25 for individual access to all three of Apple’s subscription services, or $30 if you want to share Apple Music with friends and family. The report doesn’t offer any hints as to how much of a discount one would see by subscribing to the bundle.
One of the factors that might be driving the creation of this bundle is the underwhelming response to Apple News+. Bloomberg notes that any publisher can pull its magazine or newspaper from the service after a year if they are not satisfied with the returns, and although the Los Angeles Times says that the results so far “are consistent with our expectations,” others are reportedly less than thrilled and might be ready to back out next March.
Complicating matters further is the fact that countless Apple TV+ subscribers are going to have access to the service free of charge until late 2020 and even into 2021, depending on when they activate their free trial. Why would anyone with free access to Apple TV+ and a subscription to Apple Music pick up this bundle?
