This came as landmark news for the Spanish media markets as the search giant Google revealed the upcoming launch of the News Showcase. This carefully selected online news aggregation and licensing service specializes in 60 publishers and over 140 titles and includes national, regional, and local newspapers. Its goal is to help Spanish publishers seeking to provide readers with quality news and content materials and new opportunities for engaging with consumers.
News Showcase’s release arrives after Google News’ end to its near-five-year absence from Spain in June, resulting from Spain passing new laws on copyright that let outlets control the content selection and revenue streams in the country separately. This is a new step in the relations between Google and Spanish publishers, which can be mutually beneficial. From the publishers’ side, it acts as one more outlet and gives subscribers the chance to be directed to the publishers’ most prominent works while preserving brand identity and design.
Spanish significant media groups have shown interest in the plan. El Español’s President, Pedro J. Ramirez, views News Showcase as an additional distribution platform that can improve quality journalism and become the basis for the desperately needed subscription model. Catalan media executive Carlos Nuñez, the Chairman & CEO of Prisa Media, similarly perceives the opportunity to lend visibility to online content of quality media. These statements from some leaders in the industry indicate a change of heart in the media industries in Spain to embrace digitization.
News Showcase is just part of how Google has been trying to support journalism around the world. It is worth noting that since its start in October last year, the platform has amassed more than 1 700 news outlets from 18 countries with partnership agreements. It is a shift in consumption patterns of news together with the emerging role of digital platforms in the media market. For Spanish publishers, News Showcase is an option to expand the audience attracted to the online material and experiment with the narrative.
Altogether, News Showcase and other similar endeavors will remain helpful in the further development of Spain’s media industry as it adopts new strategies for functioning in the digital world. As presenting new opportunities for content delivery and reader interaction, the platform looks able to contribute to the sustainability of professional journalism and assist publishers in managing the key issues of the digital media environment. With the adoption of the program across Spain, its effects on the circulation, sales, and the state of the Spanish take-media-identity business will attract keen interest and concern from businesses and policymakers.
