Google talks to publishers to integrate paid content into News service

Google seems to be planning to pay publishers to integrate news into the News service. Talks are said to be held for this purpose, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Previously, Google had refused to pay publishers.

Google has not officially confirmed plans to pay for news, but The Wall Street Journal believes it knows, based on sources, that such plans do exist. However, these would still be talks that are at an early stage, so it is still possible that no agreement will be reached and the plans will not go ahead.

In a statement, Google said it wants to support journalism and that it is talking with publishers to improve cooperation, including for the News service. However, the internet giant is keeping a low profile about paid content.

According to the sources of The Wall Street Journal, conversations are mainly being held with publishers located outside the United States. Google has been criticized in the past from German and French publishers, who wanted compensation for including content in Google News; these would also be countries that the internet giant is targeting. The paid content should be integrated into a free-to-use version of Google News, the sources of the American business newspaper said.