Google Will Start Paying Publishers for Upcoming News Service

By: Bloomberg

June 25, 2020

Alphabet Inc.’s Google will begin paying select media outlets featured in a yet-to-be released news service later this year, a major business shift for the search engine after years of pressure from media companies and regulators.

The licensing deals will start in three countries and Google is in talks with publishers in six more, the company said Thursday in a blog post. The service will show stories from chosen publishers inside the news aggregation features, Google News and Discover.

Brad Bender, a Google vice president, wrote in the post that the company would pay for “high-quality content.” Google didn’t disclose the financial terms or when the new service will start.