Apple News opens up to more publishers in push for more readers

When the free app launched in September, the tech giant partnered with a hundred or so big-name publishers such as The New York Times and Washington Post. But in a major move aimed at taking on the likes of Facebook, Google, and Twitter in the news-delivery game, the tech giant is now rolling out publishing tools for media outfits big and small, among them local newspapers and individual bloggers, Vanity Fair revealed Tuesday.

Apple News, which comes preloaded on all iOS devices, lets news junkies build their own feed according to the topics they’re most interested in, while a Favorites tab lets you jump into all the news offered by a single publisher.

With the biggest change to the app since its arrival six months ago, users will be able to search for a far wider range of content, allowing them to pull articles from additional sources to build a more diverse news feed.

As Vanity Fair notes, Apple’s decision to start with established publishers before opening the doors to smaller players is in line with the company’s usual strategy. With iTunes, for example, the Cupertino company kicked off with content from the major record companies before it allowed smaller labels and artists to join the party.

Apple’s move to open its News app to more publishers comes exactly a month after Facebook announced a similar plan for its news-based Instant Articles platform, with the change coming into effect in April.

If the arrival of more publishers on Apple News translates into more readers as the Cupertino company obviously hopes, then the app will be on course to generate more revenue via ads, with much of it possibly coming from new “ads that look like articles” that are reportedly on the way.

There’s also been talk of paywall possibilities to give publishers more flexibility on how their content is accessed via the app.