Verizon deepens ties with Apple, offers free Apple Music to some U.S. customers

[January 16, 2019]  (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc <VZ.N> said on Tuesday it will include free Apple Music subscriptions in some of its top-tier U.S. data plans, deepening its ties with the iPhone maker.

Apple Inc <AAPL.O> is increasingly turning for growth to its services segment, which includes businesses such as iCloud storage, Apple Music and the App Store, and has been partnering with rivals in recent months. Two weeks ago, it cut its revenue forecast, blaming iPhone sales in China.

Verizon customers opting for its "Beyond Unlimited" and "Above Unlimited" plans will also get access to free Apple Music from Jan. 17, the U.S. wireless carrier said in a statement https://vz.to/2RtAiYk.

Last year, Verizon and Apple announced a partnership, giving some customers six months of Apple Music streaming service along with their data plan. The Verizon "Go Unlimited" plan will continue to get a six-month free trial of Apple Music.

Apple in the last few months has made its iTunes service available on some of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's <005930.KS> newer smart televisions and has made Apple Music available on Amazon.com Inc's <AMZN.O> Echo smart speakers.

The Cupertino-based firm is facing a saturated global smart phone market and many users are hanging on to their old iPhones longer than ever.

(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik and Supriya Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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