Google’s News Showcase initiative has been extended to desktop devices, as the tech giant continues in its efforts to support the news industry.
The Google News Showcase made headlines earlier this year when it emerged as a potential solution for News Media Bargaining Code.
Backed by a $1.3 billion investment, the News Showcase serves as a way for Google to pay publishers across the U.K., Australia, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Czechia and India – with a particular focus on small and regional media companies.
The Google News Showcase makes stories from partner publishers available in the Google News app and pays publishers for their ‘curatorial expertise’.
Publishers are paid a guaranteed monthly payment for the next three years.
After officially launching late last year, Google announced this week that it would be extending the program from mobile to desktop following a positive initial uptake of the initiative.
“Now every user of Google News, regardless of what device they’re using, can see enhanced story panels from our News Showcase partners,” said Google News product manager Alex Cox.
“These desktop experiences will happen seamlessly, and will appear to users without requiring any additional work from our publisher partners.”
Cox also announced that publishers will be able to add bullet points in the preview panel for stories, which will help provide more context.
As well as providing publishers with financial support, the Google News Showcase also encourages users to build ongoing relationships with publications they trust.
Cox highlighted that users have hit the ‘Follow’ button for publishers over 460,000 so far and that the Showcase has resulted in 10 million clicks per month.
A Google spokesperson told B&T that payments to publishers have been made since last year.
