Google is giving Google News a redesign that will bring in elements from its Newsstand app and YouTube, according to sources who spoke with AdAge.
The redesign is expected to debut at Google I/O next week, and the sources say that Google has been in talks with publishers as of late about the impending changes, which will consolidate many Google features into one product. ”There are a lot of Google services where you find news,” one publishing executive said, “and what they’re trying to do is bring it all under one brand.”
The sources say that Google News will fold in digital magazine app Google Newsstand as well as the news portion of YouTube. As part of the redesign, Google Newsstand is expected to close and Google News will get a new app. The company will also utilize its AMP platform to get articles to load more quickly.
Google delivers 10 billion clicks to publishers’ websites each month. Last year, it scrapped its First Click Free policy that allowed access to paywalled articles through search and said it was working on a suite of new tools to help publishers reach audiences. “We really recognize the transition to digital for publishers hasn’t been easy,” Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler told The Wall Street Journal. “The economics are pretty clear: If publishers aren’t successful, we can’t be successful.”
