Earlier this year, we reported on Google’s project to create licensing agreements with traditional publishers, as observers point to the outsized presence that the search engine company has in the world of digital marketing.
Today there is news that in inking these agreements with at least 600 news outlets worldwide, Google is giving its counterparties wide leeway to spend their parts of the $1 billion allocated for Google’s News Showcase, a project planned for 2021 through 2023.
Reuters writer Paresh Dave reports Google continues to add publishers, and suggested that industry insiders hint at more money on the way.
“We’re committed to being part of the solution,” said Google VP Brad Bender in explaining long term plans, according to Dave’s coverage.
As for criteria, Google simply asks that publishers commit to creating a certain amount of content per day.
Google’s News Showcase is meant to blunt criticism that, with Facebook and Google controlling over half of all digital advertising, the original publishers of content routed to these companies sites had not been properly compensated.
Google aims to change all that. An article penned by Google CEO Sundar Pichai shows a dedication to pursuing this contribution to old-school media:
“Both News Showcase and our financial investment—which will extend beyond the initial three years—are focused on contributing to the overall sustainability of our news partners around the world,” Pichai writes. “The business model for newspapers—based on ads and subscription revenue—has been evolving for more than a century as audiences have turned to other sources for news, including radio, television and later, the proliferation of cable television and satellite radio. The internet has been the latest shift, and it certainly won’t be the last. Alongside other companies, governments and civic societies, we want to play our part by helping journalism in the 21st century not just survive, but thrive.”
If you have any tech stocks related to digital or blended content, you’ll want to stay abreast of the major changes happening within online journalism and revenue models for all of these stakeholders.
