Beginning later this week, Verizon and Apple are partnering on a new promotion for Apple News+. Any iPad activated through Verizon will qualify for a free six-month subscription to Apple News+. The deal arrives as Apple is trying to juice interest in the News+ service, which includes access to a handful of newspapers and ~300 magazines for $9.99 per month.
The six-month free period will be available for any Apple ID that has not used News+ before. If you have already redeemed the free trial month, then buying an iPad through Verizon will still be eligible for five months free.
The promotion should be officially announced on Thursday.
The offer will be limited to one redemption per Verizon account, but remember that Apple News+ subscriptions can be shared with up to six people via Family Sharing.
There does not appear to be any conditions on plans or other specs, any iPad activation should be eligible. Verizon will be automatically emailing customers who meet the criteria to let them know about the promotion. After the trial period ends, the subscription will automatically renew at the usual $9.99 per month rate unless canceled. This differs from the Verizon Apple Music partnership, where the music service is simply incorporated into the monthly plan for the life of the contract.
Apple News+ has reportedly underperformed since the service launched on iPhone, iPad, and Mac in March 2019. There have been several reports from magazine publishers over the last year that revenue has been disappointing.
Apple is exploring several initiatives to increase demand for the service, including offering a second round of free month trials for users that previously canceled their subscriptions. More significantly, Apple is preparing to add a premium audio section to the News+ offering which will make the top news stories and editorial content of the day available to be listened to through the News app, with the audio content professionally produced by Apple. Apple is also preparing a daily audio news update, which will also be available in the Podcasts app.
