Apple’s plan to create the “Netflix for news” is still buffering at 50%.

[admin]

It’s reportedly faced backlash from publishers over proposed financial terms for a news subscription service—namely, that Apple (+0.86%) wants to keep about half the revenue, per the WSJ.

Let’s run through the details. Apple’s prospective service would let users read an unlimited amount of content from participating publishers for a monthly fee.

• It wants half of that subscription fee for itself...
• ...while the rest would get split among publishers based on how long users engage with their content.

But Apple could be jostled into dealmaking mode. This news subscription service is a part of its strategy to diversify revenue in the face of weakening iPhone sales (which fell 15% in Q4). Apple’s looking to increase its paid subscriptions across devices to 500 million by 2020 from today’s 360 million.

As for the publishers, striking a deal means tapping into millions of sophisticated news junkies—and the prospect of expanding their own subscription bases.

[admin]

• Apple will reportedly reveal its news subscription and streaming video services at a potentially star-studded March 25 event. Looking forward to receiving our invite in the mail.