Program and platform Google Showcase has been operating in Poland since February 2022. The tech giant pays publishers for the use of their content. They are responsible for selecting and preparing for publication panels with a selection of the articles that are most interesting to readers.
The company has signed Google Showcase licensing agreements with more than twenty publishers, which includes a total of almost 50 websites. This list includes, among others: Gremi Media, Antyweb, Spidersweb, 300polityka, naTemat, Grupa Defense24, OKO.press, PMPG Polskie Media, Polska Press, Wirtualnemedia.pl or the websites of the Local Media Association. So far, the largest online publishers have not joined – such as Wirtualna Polska, Ringier Axel Springer, Agora, Interia, Infor or the portals of television and radio broadcasters (TVP, TVN, Polsat, Bauer, ZPR Media).
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Even when the program was introduced, there were voices that it was a preventive measure by the company in the face of future regulations related to the implementation of the DSM directive (in Poland, the law was adopted only in August this year).
– It is not true that participation in Showcase in any way prevents future discussions on the use of content covered by the Copyright Directive. As examples from other countries show, Showcase is an attractive service also for the largest and most famous publishers that focus on Internet development – explained Magdalena Kotlarczyk, head of the Polish branch of Google, in an interview with Wirtualnemedia.pl.
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We asked more than a dozen publishers to evaluate their involvement in Google Showcase. We were interested in whether the workload for journalists in the program was commensurate with the profits—both financial and in terms of website traffic. Most did not respond to our questions.
Maciej Maciejowski, CEO of Gremi Media, was one of the few to speak out. – We are pleased with the cooperation with Google, which, unlike other Big Tech companies, maintains dialogue and cooperation with publishers. We count on the continuation of this cooperation, he said in his comment.
Local publishers associated with the Local Media Association are pleased with the invitation to Google Showcase. As Patryk Ślęzak, local publisher and member of the SML board of directors, says, it is difficult to estimate the impact of Google Showcase on traffic to local portals.
– However, discussions on our association’s forum show that this is a positive impact and provides the additional traffic that is needed for local websites, given the dramatic decline in Facebook traffic. At the same time, we see a positive impact on the positioning of our news in the Google News service – Ślęzak comments to Wirtualnemedia.pl, adding that this is just one of the elements of his cooperation with the company. – We see the cooperation with Google on Showcase as one element of a broader cooperation – the platform also supports the journalism competition we organize and funds training to improve the skills of local editors – a member of the SML board of directors tells us.
Our interviewee does not clearly comment on the financial profitability of being part of the Google program. – Local media are in a very difficult financial situation, so any form of support is important for the survival of the entire media sector. All the more so because thanks to the simple panel for adding information to the Showcase system, it is not a very time-consuming activity for editorial teams – comments Patryk Ślęzak.
A representative of the Local Media Association generally assesses the cooperation with Google as positive.
– The publishers participating in the first round of the project have decided to extend their contracts with Google for another year. Especially since participation in the project does not interfere in any way with our rights to revenue under the recently implemented directive. – summarizes Patryk Ślęzak.
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One of the major national publishers, who asked our editorial team to remain anonymous, speaks less positively about Google Showcase. From his point of view, it is difficult to say that there are any special benefits for the media from participating in the program.
“For example, when it comes to the source of website traffic, the impact of Google Showcase is negligible compared to other sources, especially those from Google, such as Discover or Search. Compared to them, it has virtually no impact on traffic. On average, Showcase alone is responsible for approximately 1% of our traffic.”- reveals the publisher.
Next, our interlocutor asked about the amount of work invested in running the program vs. financial profits for the media, describes: “[Zysk] It is adequate for the expenses of its operational support, but it is not at all adequate for what is not visible, that is, the typical journalistic work necessary to prepare these texts. How long it takes to prepare articles from a group of journalists who write for us. It is not in line with what Google – especially recently – has been doing with publishers and what it is doing and plans to do with content prepared by journalists..
The agreement with Google “does not change anything for us in the context of the Copyright Directive, which was finally approved recently and under which we will – like all publishers – negotiate appropriate rates with Google for the use of our content,” he summarizes in an interview with Wirtualnemedia, a national publisher.
