On June 10, the Alliance released a study, containing analysis by strategy and economics consulting firm Keystone Strategy, showing that the amount of news in Google search results ranges from 16% of “most searched queries” and up to 40% for “trending queries.” The study also found that Google generated an estimated $4.7 billion in revenue from news content in 2018. The revenue estimate is conservative, and the actual figure might be higher, as many of the various ways Google benefits from news content are difficult to quantify, including the ad revenue and data Google gets from news sites. In response to criticism of the accuracy of the revenue numbers, Alliance President and CEO David Chavern pointed out that industry has been requesting transparency in Google’s numbers for years, and called on Google to share more accurate revenue data with the publishers and the public. The study comes as the House Judiciary Committee started its investigation into tech antitrust issues with its first hearing on the issue, titled “Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 1: The Free and Diverse Press,” on June 11. Read an executive summary of the Google study here and the full study here.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
