A new report by analytics firm CIRP reveals a significant trend in the news consumption landscape: Apple News+ subscriptions are growing at a much faster rate than those of major individual publishers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

This comes on the heels of a previous report indicating a shift in attitude among some major publishers towards Apple News+. They’re increasingly viewing it as a vital source of revenue, especially as their own website traffic growth stagnates.

While Apple doesn’t provide a breakdown of revenue specifically from News+, its Services category, which includes the service, saw a YoY (Year-over-Year) increase of 14.2% in the last quarter. The new CIRP data sheds light on this growth, suggesting Apple is outpacing individual publishers in subscriber acquisition, at least among Apple device users.

According to CIRP, the percentage of US Apple device owners with News+ subscriptions jumped from 15% in 2020 to 24% in 2024. In stark contrast, The New York Times and The Washington Post only saw a 2% increase in subscriptions during the same period, with The Wall Street Journal managing a slightly better 3% growth.

It’s important to note that CIRP’s study focused on Apple device owners, not the general population. Additionally, the firm hasn’t disclosed the sample size of the survey.

Another wrinkle in the data is the unknown breakdown of subscribers. It’s unclear how many users pay the standalone $12.99/month fee for News+ compared to those who access it through the bundled Apple One subscription priced at $37.95 (price may vary).

Despite these limitations, CIRP emphasizes that even with a 24% penetration rate among US Apple device owners (as their report suggests), this translates to “tens of millions of users” publishers gain access to by being part of Apple’s news service. This signifies a potentially significant new revenue stream for traditional media outlets.

The report highlights a potential turning point in the media industry. Apple, with its vast user base and a well-integrated news service, appears to be capturing a growing share of the news subscription market. While individual publishers are still experiencing some subscriber growth, it pales in comparison to the surge seen with Apple News+.

This trend raises several questions. Will Apple News+ continue to outpace traditional media outlets in subscriber growth? How will this impact the overall news consumption landscape? And how can established publishers adapt to this changing environment?