Google Just Outlined a New Deal to Pay French Publishers for Using Their Content
A new article on Social Media Today says that, as Google continues to negotiate with Australian authorities over a proposed implementation of new regulations that would force it to share revenue with local news publishers in the region, Google today announced a new deal to pay French publishers for news content. The agreement will apply to its Google News Showcase program.
Google has been resisting pressure from many different angles and organizations to pay news publishers for the use of their content for a long, long time now. The argument it's been presenting has been consistently along the lines of making claims it drives traffic to news publishers' sites. Yet, last year, the search engine giant came up with the new billion-dollar News Showcase program, which it says will "will pay publishers to create and curate high-quality content for a different kind of online news experience."
Google's News Showcase program isn't precisely what publishers have been asking for, but it seems like this latest move is being viewed in France as compromise enough. French news outlets get to generate direct revenue from Google and work with the search giant to promote exposure and subscriptions. Google News Showcase has been active in Brazil and Germany for a while, and it looks like France is now on board, too. In fact, Google says there are signed agreements with "nearly 450 publications across a dozen countries".
| "Our investment of $1 billion over the next three years towards news partnerships and for Google News Showcase helps support publications to produce, distribute and explain essential information to users in new ways. News Showcase panels give publishers the ability to tell important news stories together with context and links to additional stories. Panels also feature recognizable branding so users can easily find and identify trusted news organizations." |
Google's News Showcase program isn't precisely what publishers have been asking for, but it seems like this latest move is being viewed in France as compromise enough. French news outlets get to generate direct revenue from Google and work with the search giant to promote exposure and subscriptions. Google News Showcase has been active in Brazil and Germany for a while, and it looks like France is now on board, too. In fact, Google says there are signed agreements with "nearly 450 publications across a dozen countries".
