Google signs deals with news publishers in Australia to launch News Showcase

 

By Emmanuel Legrand

Google has started making direct deals with news publishers in Australia and launched the platform News Showcase, featuring news content licensed from local publishers. 

  “To meet growing reader and publisher needs, last year we increased our investment in news partnerships and launched Google News Showcase," said Google in a statement. "Today we are happy to announce we are rolling out an initial version of the product to benefit users and publishers in Australia, with a keen focus on leading regional and independent publishers given the importance of local information and the role it plays in people’s everyday lives."

  Google's move follows intense discussions between the tech giant and the Australian government about the implementation of a mandatory News Media Bargaining Code that would force online platforms such as Google or Facebook using news content to make agreements with news publishers and remunerate them for the use of content as well as for showing in searches. If negotiations between platforms and publishers failed, the government would appoint an arbitrator who would decide on the terms of the licenses. Google's latest initiative is seen as a way to bypass the legislation.

  Google's initiative follows a "constructive meeting" between Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Google parent Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Google, voiced in the past its opposition to the country's new draft media bill, and even threatened to move its business out of the country altogether if the government continued with its plans to implement the new Code.

Australia sets the rules

  "I have been able to send them the best possible signals that should give them a great encouragement to engage with the process and conclude the arrangements we’d like to see them conclude with the various news media organisations in Australia," said Morrison at a press conference. 

  He added: "We discussed some of the specifics of elements of the code. They raised those matters, I think, very respectfully. But I think we have been able to get that into a much more positive space about the ability to continue to provide services here in Australia. But at the end of the day, they understand that Australia sets the rules for how these things operate. And I was very clear about how I saw this playing out."

  Google executive Josh Frydenberg commented: “The Prime Minister [Scott Morrison] and myself and [Communications Minister] Paul Fletcher had a very constructive discussion with the head of Google just yesterday. In that discussion ... they re-committed to Australia, we re-committed [to the legislation].”

A step forward towards a fairer digital ecosystem

  Ironically, Microsoft President Brad Smith and Chief Executive Satya Nadella "fully support" the News Media Bargaining Code. "We believe that the current legislative proposal represents a fundamental step towards a more level playing field and a fairer digital ecosystem for consumers, business and society," said Smith.

 Microsoft's search engine Bingis currently the second most popular search engine in Australia after Google, but with only a 3.6% market share, compared to Google's 95% share, according to web analytics service Statcounter.

  Google's News Showcase platform has so far only been available in Brazil and Germany. Reuters reported that Google was initially planning to roll it out in Australia last June but postponed the project as the government was moving on with the Code initiative.

Bring value to publishers

  The portal will, initially, carry news content from seven Australian news organisations, such as the Canberra Times, The Illawarra Mercury, The Saturday Paper, Crikey, The New Daily, InDaily and TheConversation. Google said it expected to add other content providers to the platform.

  Google said News Showcase is "designed to bring value to both publishers and readers by providing a licensing program that pays publishers to curate content for story panels across Google services, and gives readers more insights into the stories that matter.”