Google announced a licensing program to pay publishers for high-quality content for a new news experience launching later this year. This program will help participating publishers monetize their content through an enhanced storytelling experience that lets people go deeper into more complex stories, stay informed and be exposed to a world of different issues and interests. To start, Google has signed partnerships and is working with publishing partners with local and national publications in Germany, Australia and Brazil, with more publishers in a number of countries around the globe to come soon. The new product will launch first on Google News and Discover.
This endeavor will diversify Google’s support for news businesses, building on the value already provided through Search and our ongoing efforts with the Google News Initiative to help journalism thrive in the digital age. While they’ve previously funded high-quality content, this program is a step forward in how they will support the creation of this kind of journalism. Where available, Google will also offer to pay for free access for users to read paywalled articles on a publisher’s site. This will let paywalled publishers grow their audiences and open an opportunity for people to read content they might not ordinarily see.
