Apple News+ readership is reportedly declining

Apple News+ readership is reportedly on the decline for many of the top magazine publications. According to data obtained by Press Gazette. The data suggests that the top 25 magazines on Apple News+ reached a combined circulation of just over 1.3 million in the first half of 2022, which is up compared to the first half of 2021 but down compared to the second half of 2021.

Apple News+ readership is reportedly declining

Here is the breakdown of the circulation for those Apple News+ magazine publishers, according to the data from “the Alliance of Audited Media.”

• The first half of 2021: 1,255,802
• The second half of 2021: 1,622,823
• The first half of 2022: 1,333,088

Here is a breakdown of circulation data for the top 10 magazine publishers on Apple News+, according to Press Gazette. These numbers are calculated by the Alliance of Audited Media by “using average unique opens per issue of a magazine.”

“The top 25 magazines for each period differs slightly, meaning that many individual titles in the current top ranking increased their circulations significantly despite the wider trend,” the report explains.

9to5Mac’s Take

As you can see, this means that circulation for publishers has decreased sequentially but is up year-over-year compared to the same time period in 2021. This data is tricky to compare because, in general, media traffic and readership are higher toward the end of the year than at the beginning of the year.

Therefore, there is a seasonal aspect to the industry that ultimately could suggest the Apple News+ readership is growing. The key, however, will be circulation data for the second half of this year, which of course, isn’t yet available.

It’s also important to note that this data is only referring to magazines published via Apple News+, not broader overall Apple News readership. The availability of magazines, however, is one of the key incentives Apple touts for potential Apple News+ subscribers.

Just how accurate this data is is unclear. Apple does not publicly provide any sort of metrics for Apple News+ readership. Publishers, however, do have access to readership information, traffic, sources, and more. It’s also possible (if not likely) that these publishers are experiencing a broader decline in readership that is not exclusive to Apple News+.

Apple News+ is available on its own for $9.99 per month. It’s also included in the Apple One Premier bundle for $32.95 per month, alongside Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+ with 2TB of storage, and Apple Fitness+.

Are you an Apple News+ subscriber? How often do you use the service? Let us know down in the comments.

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