Apple News chief Liz Schimel has left the company amid rumors that the News+ subscription service struggles to acquire subscribers (via Bloomberg).
News+
While Apple doesn’t release subscriber numbers, we have had publishers saying they don’t see a lot of revenue from News+. Apple keeps 50% of revenue from the service, and the other 50% is split among publishers based on how much time readers consume their content.
Ms. Schimel joined Apple in mid-2018 where she oversaw relationships with advertisers and publishers. Before Apple she was the president of international business at Condé Nast.
It’s easy to look at the departure of Ms. Schimel and conclude it’s because News+ isn’t doing well. But we just don’t have enough information. It could be for another reason entirely. In the meantime we’ll keep a weather eye on Apple News.