Google’s ‘News Showcase’ Stalls in U-S

A Google product that pays publishers to feature their content is almost a year behind its intended launch schedule in the U.S., as negotiations with some media outlets have bogged down, reports The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the situation said.

Google News Showcase allows publishers to curate panels of related stories that appear on Google News and some other Google platforms. Links bring readers to news organizations’ websites and, in some cases, allow users free access to normally paywalled content.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced Showcase in 2020 as part of a $1 billion global investment in partnerships with news publishers. It first launched in Germany and Brazil and has since expanded to 18 countries including Australia and New Zealand. The program at one point had been internally slated for a possible launch in the U.S. in 2021, according to people familiar with the matter.

A number of factors have caused delays in the negotiations with U.S. media outlets. Some publishers feel Google isn’t paying enough and are objecting to certain contractual terms, including a provision that would limit their right to get more money from the tech company in other ways, several publishing executives said. Some publishers want to wait and see the fate of legislation in Congress that would give publishers a stronger negotiating hand with tech platforms.

Google’s program is meant to create “new and deeper partnerships around the world and, importantly, will power great experiences for people online,” Google spokeswoman Jenn Crider said in a statement. The company has signed up 1,700 news publications and continues to look at additional markets, she said.

Though Google hasn’t activated the Showcase feature in the U.S., it has made some progress lately in media dealings. Bloomberg Media in recent months agreed to a multiyear licensing deal in the U.S. with Google that will generate $1 million to $3 million a year, while Reuters agreed to a global deal last year that would bring in a similar amount of U.S. revenue, people familiar with the agreements said. The Texas Tribune also has signed a Showcase deal, people familiar with the deal said.