Apple opens up rich-media format for News content to all publishers
Apple has just expanded its support for publishers, and in so doing has likely expanded its reach, for its relatively new news aggregation service, simply called News.
As noted by Wired, Apple has just opened up the so-called Apple News Format to just about everyone, from individual bloggers to independent news organizations — going beyond major publishers, with which the company has been partnering since the launch of News with iOS 9 in September.
Learn more about Apple News
What this essentially means is that just about any publisher who wish to offer content via Apple’s news delivery platform can now do so using Apple News Format.
What’s Apple News Format?
Apple News Format is the custom JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) document format used for rich-media content published in News. With Apple News Format, publishers can create content for News featuring rich typography, photo galleries, videos and animations, all of which are optimized for iOS devices including iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
The new Apple News Format lets you create stunning content for News. You can author once and News will optimize your content for all iOS devices, so your readers will have a great experience no matter which device they use. It’s easy to connect to existing content management systems, and you get access to a rich suite of tools to measure user engagement with your content.
- Apple, in note to publishers about Apple News FormatApple is expected to soon update its News Publisher portal with details on how interested publishers can make good use of Apple News Format.
More Apple News developments
In addition to opening up Apple News Format, Apple is also rolling out a new analytics dashboard. This will enable publishers to see how their content is being consumed, if at all, in News — a development that should appease publishers who have been unhappy with the dearth of data made available by Apple to them.
There's been some uncertainty surrounding the number of readers using Apple News
Apple has also just introduced a new native banner ad format for sponsored posts in News — “native” in the sense that, apart from having a “Sponsored” callout, they’re designed to resemble normal posts and blend in with their surrounding.
Apple has also been reportedly working to allow publishers to place subscription-only content in News.
Learn more about the prospect of subscription-only content in Apple News