because they don't want the apps to stick around. that's why they're not negotiating, that's why they made the pricing so high (also to take advantage of AI scrapers), that's why they're making a bogeyman out of tpa devs.

Because this was never about getting a cut in 3rd party app revenue. They want to be the only app in town, one single experience that all ads can flow into.

Now it begs the question: why not force 3p apps to show ads to non-premium users? I imagine control is the answer there. Easier to show to adverts how good one app is doing then verifying proper ad placement in every 3p app.