Google has conducted an experiment in eight European markets, removing news from search results for 1% of users for 2.5 months. The tech giant claims that the results show news is essentially worthless to its ad business, which could have significant implications for the way it interacts with news publishers in the future. Google hopes to use this outcome as leverage in payment negotiations with European publishers.
Forecast for 6 months: Google will continue to push for lower payments to news publishers, potentially leading to a decrease in the quality and quantity of news content available online. This could result in a shift towards more user-generated content and alternative sources of information.
Forecast for 1 year: The European Union may impose stricter regulations on Google’s handling of news content, potentially leading to a more level playing field for news publishers. This could result in increased revenue for news outlets and a more diverse range of online content.
Forecast for 5 years: The rise of alternative news sources and platforms could continue to challenge Google’s dominance in the online news market. This could lead to a more decentralized and diverse online news ecosystem, with multiple players competing for users’ attention.
Forecast for 10 years: The concept of online news as we know it today may be largely obsolete, replaced by more immersive and interactive forms of storytelling. This could be driven by the development of new technologies, such as augmented reality and virtual reality, which could revolutionize the way we consume and interact with news.
