Apple’s News app is now available for Australian iPhone and iPad owners, acting as a personalised newsfeed aggregator for digital media.
News Corp and Pacific Magazines are two local news outlets who’ve signed on to the service which basically means readers don’t have to jump between apps or sites.
Apple News replaces Newsstand and allows the user to select topics from magazines, newspapers and websites and filter them into a favourites section.
The app can browse for articles algorithmically or users can put precise requests into a search tab.
Publishers and content providers can create articles within Apple News Format, which automatically optimises articles for iOS devices and allows for audio and video content too.
News Corp has announced its brands will feature on Apple News and include news.com.au, its tabloid newspapers, The Australian Life, Confidential and Fox Sports. Content that is only available to News Corp digital subscribers through its websites, mobile and tablet apps, will not be available through Apple News.
News Corp’s group director of digital product and development, Alisa Bowen, said of Apple News: “‘We believe in engaging with audiences wherever they are, and Apple News is a great distribution and sampling opportunity for our journalism.
‘This is the latest example of News Corp Australia being at the forefront of digital publishing innovation. Our involvement with Apple technology dates back to the launch of the first iPad, for which The Australian had the very first news app in the country.
‘The combination of our brands and Apple News also represents a powerful advertising proposition, and we are currently talking to a number of interested parties about commercial opportunities
‘The fact that third parties such as Apple want to feature original content brands on their apps is further proof, if it were needed, of the high quality engagement that our journalism provides,” she said.
Darren Kerry, head of digital and innovation for Pacific Magazines added: “We see Apple News as a key mobile channel expanding our brands from the publishing model to a mobile content driven future aligned to the changing habits of the modern consumer.”
Clive Dickens, chief digital officer for Seven West Media, said: “With millions of Australian users, and mobile content consumption rising rapidly, Apple News is an opportunity to put Pacific Magazines’ brands and the brands of our clients and stakeholders in front of mobile first consumers.”
