• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 20, 2024

Apple has started selling its own advertising inventory for Apple News. The company is pitching ads to publishers and advertisers in the hopes it will increase revenue, offsetting device sales and subscription services.

During the company's last earnings call, Apple said device sales grew 6% in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the year-ago period.

Apple launched its iPhone 16 in September, but the expectation is that Apple Intelligence, the company's AI technology, will attract users and sales will increase.

In Q3 2024, Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter, total sales for the company reported in October reached $94.9 billion.

Apple sells its own ad inventory in search and in its App Store. Until now, it has relied on third-party vendors such as Taboola to sell Apple News ads.

Taboola signed a deal with Apple early this year to power native advertising in Apple News and Apple Stocks, Taboola told MediaPost. 

The arrangement with Taboola is not ending. Apple will continue to sell unsold ad units through Taboola. 

Apple News is available across Apple devices — on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. These apps enable brands and publishers to reach specific audiences.

During the U.S. election, Apple began tracking results and providing real-time news on home and locked screens of its devices. It became the latest real-time information server to build its news business.

Mazdak Safaei, CEO at Ad.Plus, on LinkedIn called Apple’s decision a positive move for publishers and a transformation in the way it will redefine media monetization.

Supporting the push into news, Apple will sell premium sponsored ads of editorially curated content for relevant events, such as the Met Gala, and U.S. Open in 2025, Axios reported.

The new arrangement could be considered as a revenue-share model. Publishers will receive 70% of the ad revenue sold by Apple that serve in its articles, and a percentage of ad revenue sold by Apple in the Apple News feed. The amount will depend on engagement rates with their content.

Apple News publishers will continue to receive 100% of the revenue from the advertising sold against content in the app, Axios reported.

Apple’s advertising news sales team is fairly limited, according to reports. Reported new hires have pointed to a possible Apple TV+ ad tier in the future.