News publishers will get US$1 bil over 3 years from Google

CEO Sundar Pichai said Alphabet’s Google plans to pay US$1 billion to publishers globally for their news over the next three years.

He said the new product called Google News Showcase will launch first in Germany, where it has signed up German newspapers including Der Spiegel, Stern, Die Zeit, and in Brazil with Folha de S Paulo, Band and Infobae.

“This financial commitment — our biggest to date — will pay publishers to create and curate high-quality content for a different kind of online news experience. This approach is distinct from our other news products because it leans on the editorial choices individual publishers make about which stories to show readers and how to present them.” Pichai said in a blog post.

Alphabet reported a net profit of US$34.3 billion on revenue of almost US$162 billion last year.

“With News Showcase and the new integration of editorial content like from Spiegel, Google shows that they are serious about supporting quality journalism in Germany. We are happy to be part of it from the start,” said Stefan Ottlitz, managing director of the Spiegel Group.

“By launching a product, they (Google) can dictate terms and conditions, undermine legislation designed to create conditions for a fair negotiation, while claiming they are helping to fund news production,” said EPC Executive Director Angela Mills Wade.

About 200 publishers in Argentina, Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada and Germany have signed up to the product.

Google is negotiating with French publishers, among its most vocal critics, while Australia wants to force it and Facebook to share advertising revenue with local media groups.

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