Major news publishers are seeking more favourable terms from Apple on commissions the iPhone maker collects from them on payments made through its app store, according to a letter posted by a trade body on Thursday.
Digital Content Next (DCN), which represents New York Times Co, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and other publishers, posted the letter, addressed to Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, on its website.
Apple, which usually takes a cut of between 15% and 30% from news publishers for first-time subscriptions made through apps on the store, has a reduced rate for Amazon.com.
In a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month, Cook said the reduced rate was available to any developer who met certain conditions.
News publishers should qualify for the same terms offered to Amazon for its Prime Video app on Apple’s app store, DCN CEO Jason Kint suggested in Thursday’s letter to Cook.
“I ask that you clearly define the conditions that Amazon satisfied for its arrangement so that DCN’s member companies meeting those conditions can be offered the same agreement.”
The letter cited communication between Apple veteran Eddy Cue and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos where the two companies agreed on a 15% revenue-sharing deal for new customer sign-ups for Prime Video through app store. The email emerged during the Committee hearing on July 29.
The latest missive comes days after Apple removed Epic Games’ “Fortnite” from its app store for violating in-app payment guidelines, prompting Epic to file federal lawsuits challenging the rule.
Apple and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
$2-trillion+ market value
The news comes after Apple became the first publicly-listed US company with a stock market value over $2 trillion.
The Cupertino, California-based company’s shares briefly rose to as high as $468.65 on Wednesday, equivalent to a market capitalisation of $2.004 trillion.
Buoyed by bets on the long-term success of the country’s biggest tech names in a post-coronavirus world, Apple’s shares have surged since blowout quarterly results in July that saw the iPhone maker eclipse Saudi Aramco as the world’s most valuable listed company. Apple’s stock is up about 57% so far in 2020.
The rally reflects growing investor confidence in Apple’s shift toward relying less on sales of iPhones and more on services for its users, including video, music and games.
Apple now accounts for close to 7% of the S&P 500’s total market value. Its market capitalisation is about equal to the combined values of the S&P 500’s 200 smallest companies.
However, Apple’s recent stock rally has left it potentially overvalued, according to a widely used metric. The stock is trading at over 30 times analysts’ expected earnings, its highest level in more than a decade, according to Refinitiv.
