Apple today announced that it will shut down the iAd App Network at the end of June.
“Although we are no longer accepting new apps into the network, advertising campaigns may continue to run and you can still earn advertising revenue until June 30,” the company wrote in a blog post. “If you’d like to continue promoting your apps through iAd until then, you can create a campaign using iAd Workbench.”
Apple first launched iAd in 2010. Developers sign up for the iAd App Network to cause iAd advertisements to appear in their apps. And apps must already have the iAd Framework — a technology built into the iOS software development kit (SDK) that retrieves ads from the network — before developers submit iOS apps to Apple for review, according to documentation for the tool. The technology is capable of running banner ads as well as full-screen ads.
The announcement about the closure comes a couple of days after BuzzFeed reported that Apple would be breaking up the direct sales team for iAd.
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Advertising has been a controversial subject for Apple’s mobile operating system. The iOS 9 version of the OS now offers ad blocking for users.
Facebook and Google have gotten major traction in the mobile advertising industry in recent years, and as the company behind a major mobile operating system Apple plays an important role. But it’s unclear just how much revenue iAd has brought in to Apple. The company’s device revenue is far easier to determine.
Not that third-party developers will now have no way of making money from iOS development. They can still obtain revenue through premium apps and free apps with in-app purchases. Apple said people spent $1.1 billion on those two types of purchases in the two weeks ending on January 3, according to a statement.
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