After delays, Google sets U.S. News Showcase launch for summer
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Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is rolling out its News Showcase product within weeks, a launch that comes after a number of delays and contentious regulatory battles around the world.
"Later this summer, we will launch News Showcase in the U.S., in partnership with more than 150 news publications, 90% of them local or regional," said Chris Jansen, Google's Head of Local News Global Partnerships.
That's a news licensing program and presentation that Google first launched in 2020, expanding over time to 22 countries and more than 2,300 publications participating.
That launch has come alongside increasing legislation globally to help news publishers get payments from the tech companies featuring their work. In the United States, that has meant major news organizations criticizing the tech giant for taking advantage of the power of featuring news in their products without paying publishers for using it.
Recent deals from major publishers (notably Wall Street Journal parent News Corp. (NWS) (NWSA) and The New York Times (NYT)) suggest those big organizations will draw about $100M annually from Google for news and other partnering deals, the WSJ noted.
Google's News Showcase in the U.S. will involve publishing partner across 39 states, including not only global/national pubs (like The Associated Press, Bloomberg, El Diario, Reuters and more) but also regional sources including Minnesota's Duluth News Tribune, Louisiana's Times-Picayune/NOLA.com, California's Oaklandside and Florida's Orlando Weekly.
Meanwhile, Google says it's making more investment to support local U.S. news, with its News Initiative launching new partnerships with five news associations for financial grants and training.
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