Google Pledges $1 Billion in Licensing Payments to News Publishers
October 01 2020 - 6:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Benjamin Mullin
Alphabet Inc.'s Google said Thursday it will pay publishers more
than $1 billion over the next three years to license news content
for a new product called Google News Showcase.
The product will display story panels -- teasers for articles in
Google's news section -- complete with images and summaries
selected by publishers. Users who click on the story panels will be
taken directly to news organizations' websites, where a story can
be read in full.
The program is launching in Germany and Brazil. Google is in
talks with publishers in other countries, including the U.S.,
according to people familiar with the matter. Google has already
signed deals with nearly 200 publications, including Der Spiegel,
Stern, Handelsblatt and Folha de S. Paulo.
Google News Showcase will be integrated into the Google News app
and eventually will be available on Google Search. The company
plans to include audio briefings and video clips later.
"The value of news to Google is really about building a
more-informed world," said Brad Bender, vice president of product
management for news at Google. "This launch and billion-dollar
global investment takes our support to a new level."
Mr. Bender said news outlets will be paid based partly on the
number of stories they curate and summarize for Google News. The
readership of those stories won't affect how much publishers are
paid, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Bender
declined to say how much publishers will be paid annually.
Several Silicon Valley heavyweights have ventured into the
business of rounding up news stories. Last year, Apple Inc.
launched Apple News+, which carries stories from several news
organizations, including The Wall Street Journal. Apple said that
product will be offered as part of a bundle for subscribers called
Apple One, which will include television shows and music. Facebook
Inc. is paying publishers to include story summaries in its news
tab, a feature launched last year.
Google has been in talks with publishers about potential
licensing arrangements since early this year, the Journal has
reported.
Google is facing scrutiny from federal and state authorities.
The U.S. Justice Department has been moving toward bringing an
antitrust suit against Google, while state attorneys general are
pursuing their own investigation of the tech company, the Journal
has reported.
Some news publishers have complained about Google's dominance of
the online advertising marketplace, including its various tools
that help place ads on websites. Google has also been criticized by
executives at major news organizations -- including Wall Street
Journal parent News Corp -- for using news content in its products
without paying the publishers that provide it.
Write to Benjamin Mullin at Benjamin.Mullin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 01, 2020 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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