In late 2020, Google unveiled a $1 billion news licensing program to support publishers by surfacing card-based content across its platforms. Google News Showcase is now coming to Japan.
The effort today has signed nearly 1,000 — up from 800 in July — deals with news publications in Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, UK, Argentina, Australia, Czechia, Italy, India, Canada, Austria, and Colombia. Google says over 90% of the publications “provide local or community news.”
In Japan, Google has signed partnerships with over 40 publishers that include national, regional, and local news organizations:
The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Asahi Shimbun Company, Nikkei Inc., The Chunichi Shimbun, KAHOKU SHIMPO PUBLISHING CO. and The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd., together with news agencies JIJI PRESS, LTD. and Kyodo News.
News Showcase cards are meant to be glanceable, and will start appearing today in Google Discover on mobile, as well as Google News for the web, Android, and iOS. In the former feed, you’ll get them from publications you already follow, while you can find the panels in the “For You” and “Newsstand” tabs of News.
These licensing agreements also see Google pay publishers to unlock certain paywalled content to provide a “wide range of news content” for free and encourage paid subscriptions.
More about Google News Showcase:
- Google News Showcase is now available on desktop web after launching on mobile
- Google signs news partnership with WSJ and other UK, Australian News Corp publications
- News Showcase expands to iOS, will offer some paywalled articles for free
Author: Abner Li
Source: 9TO5Google
