Google to pay out $1 Billion to Publishers Through its Google News Initiative

Google has launched a $ 1 billion programs to pay news publishers on Google News Initiative.

Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, when launching the programs, said that the fund will give the participating google publishers the ability to package their stories that appear within Google’s news products, providing deeper storytelling and more context through features like timelines, bullets, and related articles.

Pichai added that other components like video, audio and daily briefings will follow later after the launch.

The google news initiative will first appear on Google News for Android, to offer rolling panels to partner publishers to assist in stories that will appear on Google News.

Google News signed a partnership with 200 publishers in different countries with its expansion plans subjected to regulatory approval from individual countries.

The countries that google signed a partnership with include UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, Brazil, with its vision to reach other places like India, Belgium and Netherlands.

Earlier in June, Google Products Management VP, Brand Bender, announced that the news licensing program will allow users to access selected premium articles locked behind paywalls, pushing the audience for publishers by allowing access to readers who could not pay for premium subscription fees.

The financial commitment and the Google News Showcase platform plans to build upon its earlier Licensing Program. They also promised to support publishers to report important news despite their financial challenges.