Most Apple News+ articles are free anyway

6 points by hot_gril 3y ago ↗ HN

I've noticed that almost every Apple News+ article is actually free from the original source. Occasionally it's WSJ which actually costs money, but somehow Apple is trying to monetize a lot of content from random sources that are normally free. What kind of agreement is in place for that?

For example, "Hyundai was poised to become Tesla's top contender[...]" from LA Times. In the News app, it blocks most of the article saying I have to pay for News+ and won't let me share the link. If I Google the same title and take LAT's result, there isn't a paywall: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-02-28/hyundai-kia-ev-ira-biden-ioniq

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mattl 3y ago ↗

When I go to that LA Times article, I get a pop up saying "Disabling your ad blocker will help support the mission of the L.A. Times. With a simple click, you can help fund our journalism." and then an ad at the bottom to subscribe for $4 a week.

hot_gril 3y ago ↗

Like most news sites, LAT asks you to become a paid member for the website as a whole, but that article isn't behind a paywall. It says the same thing on LAT articles that Apple News presents without wanting the News+ subscription.