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Google News Showcase is a paid curation and content-licensing program, separate from ordinary eligibility for Google News. Apple’s News Partner Program instead ties a possible commission rate to qualifying in-app subscriptions; Microsoft Start, as described in a 2025 South African regulator report, licenses full articles for reading on Microsoft’s platform and shares some story-page ad revenue. These are different transaction types, so publishers should compare the rights granted, reader destination, payment basis, territory and contract—not just a percentage or participation count.
What Google News Showcase pays for—and what it does not
Google describes News Showcase as a global content-licensing program in which it pays participating publishers to curate journalism for a presentation in Google News and Discover. Panels can use publisher branding and add context such as timelines, bullet points and related stories. Google says panels can direct readers to the publisher’s site, and that some arrangements provide access to selected articles that would otherwise be behind a paywall.
In its explanation for Canada, Google says publishers receive monthly fees for curation and, where applicable, access to a limited amount of paywalled content. Google says the arrangement is not pay-per-click: traffic and new subscribers generated through panels are additional to the fee. That describes Google’s stated model, not a public rate card. The public program information does not establish a universal payment amount or disclose individual publishers’ contract terms.
Showcase is also distinct from ordinary Google News eligibility. Google says content that complies with its policies is automatically considered for Google News; a separate Showcase agreement is not described as a prerequisite for inclusion. Google’s 2025 announcement about the Publisher Center transition said the change did not alter eligibility for Google News surfaces. Showcase participation should not be treated as a promised search or news ranking boost.
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How the programs compare
| Program | What the public description says is paid or licensed | Where readers consume the news | Scope and evidence limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google News Showcase | Monthly fees for curation and, in some cases, limited access to selected paywalled articles; not a pay-per-click payment, according to Google’s Canadian explanation. | Branded panels appear in Google News and Discover; panels can send readers to the publisher’s site. | Google reported more than 2,300 publications in 22 countries as of June 2023. This is a historical company-reported figure, not a verified current count. Public sources do not state a universal rate card or publisher-specific terms. |
| Apple News Partner Program | Eligible publishers may qualify for a 15% commission rate on qualifying in-app purchase subscriptions from day one. This is tied to subscription transactions, not a monthly curation license fee. | Apple News publishing and a publisher’s subscription app are part of the relationship. | Apple publishes channel, format, app and subscription requirements. Its qualifying language means eligibility and the applicable terms should be checked for each publisher. |
| Microsoft Start | A 2025 South African Competition Commission report says Microsoft licenses full articles and shares revenue from display ads on story pages with licensed publishers; it says interstitial-ad revenue is not shared. | The report describes readers opening the full licensed article on Microsoft Start rather than being redirected to the publisher’s webpage. | The description comes from a South African market inquiry, not a current global Microsoft offer sheet. Do not assume the same terms or availability elsewhere. |
| Facebook News | A 2022 UK government advice report described licensing arrangements with UK publishers on principles similar to Showcase. | The report is a historical description, not evidence of a currently open product or offer. | The cited 2022 account does not establish present availability or terms. |
Why Apple’s 15% is not comparable to a Showcase fee
Apple says its News Partner Program is designed for subscription news publications that provide content in Apple News Format. Its stated 15% rate applies to qualifying in-app purchase subscriptions for publishers that may qualify under the program. It is not 15% of all publisher revenue, nor is it a flat payment for licensing or curating articles.
Apple’s published eligibility conditions
- The publisher must maintain a robust Apple News channel in Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, and publish all content to that channel in Apple News Format.
- Publishers based outside those regions that do not publish in Apple News Format must share content by RSS.
- The publisher’s app must primarily deliver original, professionally authored news, be available on the App Store and offer auto-renewable subscriptions through Apple’s in-app purchase system.
- The Account Holder must agree to a separate addendum.
Apple’s wording is conditional: publishers “may qualify,” and the rate concerns “qualifying” subscriptions. Check current program terms and the publisher’s specific eligibility rather than applying the percentage to every subscription or revenue stream.
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What Microsoft Start’s model changes for publishers
The South African Competition Commission’s 2025 report describes Microsoft Start as an aggregator available on the web and in an app, as well as through products such as Edge’s start page and Windows news feeds. In the report’s account, licensed full articles are read on Microsoft Start. Display ads appear around news and on story pages, with a share of story-page ad revenue going to licensed publishers; interstitial-ad revenue is excluded from that sharing description.
This reader journey differs from Google’s described Showcase panels, which can send readers to publisher sites. A publisher assessing an on-platform full-article arrangement should therefore establish what reader relationship, registration or subscription opportunities, audience information and measurement it will receive. The cited regulator report describes the South African inquiry context; it does not establish a current worldwide Microsoft contract schedule.
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What is—and is not—known about Showcase participation
Google reported more than 2,300 Showcase publications across 22 countries as of June 2023. That is Google’s own dated adoption figure. It should not be presented as the number participating today or as an independently verified current total. Google describes the program as available in selected countries and regions, but the public information cited here does not supply a current country-by-country list.
Nor does the participation figure reveal what an individual publisher is paid. The public descriptions reviewed do not disclose a standard Showcase rate, a publisher’s specific fee, contract duration, renewal or termination provisions, rights scope, exclusivity, or the reporting and audience-data terms available under an individual agreement. Those details need to be established from a current offer and contract for the relevant territory.
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Territory can change the bargaining context
On 19 December 2025, Spain’s competition regulator, the CNMC, announced a settlement following an investigation into Google’s negotiations with Spanish press publishers and news agencies concerning inclusion in Google Search, Google News, Discover and News Showcase. The CNMC said Google’s commitments would increase transparency and align negotiations with Spanish law. The commitments run for five years and may be renewed for another five. This is the regulator’s account of a settlement and its stated rationale, not a court finding of liability, and it should not be generalized beyond Spain.
The settlement illustrates why a program description alone cannot answer what a publisher can negotiate or what rights apply. Local law, the publisher’s territory and the specific platform offer all matter.
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A practical way to compare offers
Before comparing headline payments, align the offers on the same commercial and editorial dimensions:
- Payment basis: identify whether compensation is a periodic license or curation fee, a commission on subscription transactions, an advertising revenue share, or another formula. Establish how it is calculated and paid.
- Rights and material: determine whether the platform receives curated headlines and panels, full articles, selected paywall access, or rights associated with subscription sales. Set the permitted uses and limits in writing.
- Reader destination: establish whether the reader lands on the publisher’s site or app, or reads within the platform. Clarify any effects on registration, subscriptions and audience-data access.
- Editorial presentation: ask how branding, headlines, context and article presentation are controlled, and what the publisher can change.
- Eligibility and geography: verify the current program rules, the exact countries covered, and any applicable local legal framework.
- Measurement and reporting: confirm what traffic, audience, payment and performance reporting the publisher will receive.
- Term and exit: review duration, renewal, exclusivity, termination rights and what happens to licensed content when an agreement ends.
These questions matter because the public descriptions concern different things: Google’s stated monthly curation and, sometimes, paywall-access fees; Apple’s possible commission on qualifying in-app subscriptions; and Microsoft Start’s on-platform full-article licensing with a specified story-page advertising share in the South African report. A payment percentage or participation total is not meaningful without matching the territory, time period, rights and revenue definition.
Choosing the right comparison
For a publisher deciding among actual offers, compare the value of the rights requested with the payment and the reader relationship the publisher retains. Showcase is the closest match when evaluating a paid curation and selected paywall-access arrangement. Apple’s program belongs in a subscription-app comparison, while the Microsoft Start account is most useful for understanding an on-platform full-article and advertising-revenue-share model in the South African context. Facebook News is only a historical comparator on the cited evidence.
Make the decision from current, territory-specific offers: obtain the payment formula, rights grant, reporting and audience-data provisions, duration, renewal and termination terms for each candidate. The public program descriptions explain broad mechanics, but do not substitute for the contracts that determine a publisher’s actual economics and obligations.
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