Google to start paying publishers for content later this year

Google announced a licensing program through which it will pay news publishers for content, the company announced Thursday. 

The result of these partnerships will be a “new news experience” that’s coming “later this year.” 

Google says the focus will be on “an enhanced storytelling experience that lets people go deeper into more complex stories” and on “different issues and interests.”

It could mean Google is launching a fully fledged Apple News+ competitor. The company has initially signed partnerships with local and national publications in Germany, Australia, and Brazil, with more to come “soon.”

The terms of the deals are scarce, but Google says it will pay publishers directly, and also pay for stories that are behind paywalls. 

“This interesting new partnership with Google will allow us to curate an experience that will bring our award-winning editorial voice into play, broaden our outreach and provide trusted news in a compelling way across Google products,” said Stefan Ottlitz, managing director of Germany’s SPIEGEL Group, one of the publishers that has partnered with Google. Australia’ InQueensland and InDaily, as well as Brazil’s Diarios Associados, are among the partners as well. 

Since 2018, Google has supported news publications through its $300 million Google News Initiative commitment. Brad Bender, vice-president for Google news products, told the Financial Times that this company will go “above and beyond” what the company has done for publishers so far, and that it hopes to roll the product out to six additional countries, with one likely candidate being the Netherlands. 

Google’s relationship with publishers has been shaky. Australia has recently taken steps to force Google and Facebook to start paying publishers for content, and France’s competition watchdog has ordered the company to negotiate licensing fees with local publishers.