Apple's rumored Conde Nast purchase bid would further amplify Apple News
Rumors suggest that Apple may be looking to boost Apple News content with a purchase of magazine publisher Conde Nast, the owner of Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Wired.
Back in March, Apple made a move to purchase Texture, a digital magazine service previously owned by a consortium of magazine publishers. Now, rumors have Apple looking to purchase one of Texture's previous owners.
A piece in The Guardian Monday, ahead of Apple's quarterly earnings announcement, stated that "rumors have even circulated that Apple is looking to buy parts or all of the troubled magazine publisher Conde Nast."
The sources of such rumors, heretofore unpublished, are unclear. The newspaper analyzes the potential purchase as something that "would further [Apple's] push, initiated with the Apple Watch, to become a luxury fashion accessory, lifestyle and content brand" and misses the larger point.
The company also owns such tech-focused outlets as Ars Technica, Backchannel and Wired. Conde Nast formerly directly owned the social networking site Reddit, and while it spun off that company a few years ago, Conde Nast subsidiary Advance Publications remains its largest shareholder.
Like most media companies of its kind, Conde Nast has carried out frequent layoffs in recent years. Various initiatives, including an "All Access" feature launched in partnership with Amazon in 2003, have failed to stem the tide. Conde Nast was also a part of the consortium of magazine publishers that owned Texture prior to its purchase by Apple.
A deal would also bring with it world-class journalists, editors, and designers -- which Apple has been seeking for Apple News curation and expansion anyway. It may present obvious conflict-of-interest problems for Wired and the other tech publications to be directly owned by Apple.
"We want the best articles," Apple's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, said at a South by Southwest appearance in March, just hours after the Texture deal was announced. "We want them to look amazing and we want them to be from trusted sources."
Apple has long been an advertiser in Conde Nast publications, with Apple ads often appearing on the back page of The New Yorker.
The website The Outline, working off of the Guardian story, speculated this week that Apple could make such a purchase in order to become "cool again," drawing that analogy that "Apple seems to be realizing that for every iTunes, there needs to be a Bono."
Back in March, Apple made a move to purchase Texture, a digital magazine service previously owned by a consortium of magazine publishers. Now, rumors have Apple looking to purchase one of Texture's previous owners.
A piece in The Guardian Monday, ahead of Apple's quarterly earnings announcement, stated that "rumors have even circulated that Apple is looking to buy parts or all of the troubled magazine publisher Conde Nast."
The sources of such rumors, heretofore unpublished, are unclear. The newspaper analyzes the potential purchase as something that "would further [Apple's] push, initiated with the Apple Watch, to become a luxury fashion accessory, lifestyle and content brand" and misses the larger point.
About Conde Nast
Conde Nast, based in New York, is one of the bastions of "old media" in the United States. Its history goes back more than a century, and its titles include such prestigious periodicals as Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appetit, Brides, Conde Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, Golf Digest, GQ, Self, Teen Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W.The company also owns such tech-focused outlets as Ars Technica, Backchannel and Wired. Conde Nast formerly directly owned the social networking site Reddit, and while it spun off that company a few years ago, Conde Nast subsidiary Advance Publications remains its largest shareholder.
Like most media companies of its kind, Conde Nast has carried out frequent layoffs in recent years. Various initiatives, including an "All Access" feature launched in partnership with Amazon in 2003, have failed to stem the tide. Conde Nast was also a part of the consortium of magazine publishers that owned Texture prior to its purchase by Apple.
What Apple would do with Conde
Clearly, such a purchase is far from a sure thing. But it would certainly represent a content play for Apple to combine ownership of a magazine, as well as all of its archives, with its plans for Texture. Apple is expected to launch a paid news subscription service following the Texture purchase.A deal would also bring with it world-class journalists, editors, and designers -- which Apple has been seeking for Apple News curation and expansion anyway. It may present obvious conflict-of-interest problems for Wired and the other tech publications to be directly owned by Apple.
"We want the best articles," Apple's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, said at a South by Southwest appearance in March, just hours after the Texture deal was announced. "We want them to look amazing and we want them to be from trusted sources."
Apple has long been an advertiser in Conde Nast publications, with Apple ads often appearing on the back page of The New Yorker.
The website The Outline, working off of the Guardian story, speculated this week that Apple could make such a purchase in order to become "cool again," drawing that analogy that "Apple seems to be realizing that for every iTunes, there needs to be a Bono."
Comments
I would never use a product like Apple News. Not matter how convienient. It isn’t worth the potential price.
Amalgamation of media ownership is also ultimately detrimental. After all, isn’t that why we are supposed to hate Murdoch?
Personally if Apple wants to do news, they really should set up a full blown news station to actually compete with the rest of the news sources out there. Stress ethical reporting and they will have success. As for the rest of the Conde Nast media i really don't see the point. Again if people really wanted to read those magazines, some of which serve no useful purpose, they would still be buying the magazines.
In many ways magazines are a relic from the past. Especially anything dealing with food. Just a short time ago I spent a couple of minutes looking for Swedish meatball recipes {seriously} and had dozens of recipes and articles at my finger tips. If there is one thing Google does well it is finding me new ways to taste something good. Frankly the online sources are sometimes a hang over from the print media and I'd like to see magazine format sites disappear. For Apple to do that though they really need to break away from the mindset in the old media world.
I could say much the same about a few other entities in the Conde Nast line up. Basically they are trying to serve a readership that simply isn't there any more. In the case of Ars, a break away from the print media mindset, the conflict of interest would be overwhelming. So I'm just not seeing it. That is where is the pay off in such a purchase for Apple? Will they pay millions, maybe billions, for businesses that are in decline and likely will not recover? I'm looking at each magazine as a business here. To look at tit another way is it prudent to invest in a buggy whip manufacture?
Would that be for the original content that Netflix has, or their entire catalogue?
I assume all streaming licences will become void if Netflix is sold to another company and would have to be re-negotiated.
Would Netflix still be worth their market value with just their original content?
I assume Apple would have weighed their options and decided that investing the same amount in original content makes more business sense in the long run.
Is that statement implying that Bono of all people is considered to be ‘cool’? Because he’s just about the most un-cool celebrity out there! And has been for years, there’s a reason why an episode of Southpark took literally the ‘shit’ out of him.