Can Publishers Sidestep Apples Fees?
The publishers could use that customer information — which Apple typically guards very closely — as a bargaining chip when negotiating rates with advertisers, which might lessen sting of sharing subscription revenue with Apple. It’s possible the publishers could avoid sharing ad revenue with Apple by placing and selling ads within their own content streams, and thus sidestepping the iAd platform, Fidler suggested, though it’s not likely that Apple will let the publishers skate on the 30-percent subscription surcharge. The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) is preparing to launch a platform called “Press Engine” that will give newspaper publishers access to application templates they can use to deliver content to Apple iPhones and iPads. Publishers would pay the New York Times Co. a one-time licensing fee to purchase the application, plus monthly fees for application maintenance.
