Now that Apple has fully launched its three media subscription services — Apple Music in 2015, Apple News+ earlier this spring, and Apple TV+ two weeks ago — public speculation about possible bundled offerings is reaching an all-time high.
The tech giant will be ready to deliver its News+, TV+, and Music services as a package deal as early as 2020, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday citing people familiar with the matter. The report notes that such a bundle will likely yield less money for news publishers — who currently receive, as a group, 50 percent of News+ revenue — but result in more subscribers for Apple’s three paid services overall. (TV+ currently delivers 100 percent of revenue to Apple, and Apple Music pays around 70 percent of revenue to artists and record labels; it’s unclear how exactly the revenue streams of the three services would be affected under a cheaper all-in-one deal.)
A package deal of Apple subscription services has been rumored for years, ever since the company announced intentions to launch a premium news service and a slate of original video programming. Those whispers intensified when both News+ and TV+ were met with a lukewarm welcome; while the former was billed as a “Netflix for news” and the latter was positioned as a rival to Amazon, Netflix, and Disney, both sets of ambitions have been slow in their realization. Ahead of lassoing the services together to entice new subscribers, Apple is already taking steps into bundled deals, announcing last month that student subscribers of Apple Music could receive a TV+ subscription at no additional cost.
Subscriptions to Apple Music, Apple News+, and Apple TV+ currently run $10, $5, and $10 a month, respectively, before any promotional deals are applied.