Following his interviews centered around the new Apple TV, Apple’s SVP of software and services Eddy Cue has now sat down with CNN’s Brian Stelter to discuss the News app the company launched alongside iOS 9. In the interview, Cue and Stelter discuss a variety of points surrounding News, including Apple’s main goal with the app, the expansion to additional countries, and revenue sharing.
Cue stated that the main reason Apple created a pre-installed app for reading news is because it’s something “everyone uses everyday.” Cue elaborated that Apple only pre-installs apps that it thinks users want and will use on a daily basis.
When asked about revenue sharing between Apple and publishers, Cue explained that publishers can choose to sell their own ads and keep 100 percent of the revenue, or have Apple sell them, in which case Apple will take a 30 percent cut. Cue said Apple benefits from News by “creating a great application on our devices,” implying that the goal is not monetary in Apple’s eyes.
Cue also explained that by launching its own News app, it allows journalists to do what they do best and not have to worry about developing a standalone app. Specifically, Cue noted that News allows small publishers to share their stories with the world.
Stelter then asked Cue about expanding News to more countries, specifically China. The Apple executive revealed that the company is working on a version of the app that it hopes to launch in China soon, explaining that Apple has a great relationship with China and isn’t facing any hurdles in its expansion.
Cue explained that Apple is not looking to employ journalists at all, but rather build technologies and a platform on which journalists can share their writing.
The video version of the interview can be seen below. Cue ends the interview by stating that Apple appreciates “great journalism more than rumors,” while going on to state that journalism is very important and that Apple wouldn’t “trade it for anything in the world.”
