A collection of French newspapers have together created an ‘online virtual newsstand’ where users can pay to view their content, according to a report by Shaping the Future of the Newspaper blog.
The platform, which will be launched in September, was reportedly announced by France’s National Daily Press Union as an alternative to Google News, after negotiations with the search giant over ad revenue failed.
The maneuver comes months after Google announced its intention to include advertising on its news aggregation system. French newspapers had tried to negotiate with Google to receive a percentage of the ads revenues. But, as their request was denied, they have decided to launch a paid service of their own.
According to the post, the content’s price will be fixed by daily fees or subscription packages, with options to pay for individual articles or complete publications. News organisations signed up so far include Le Monde, Libération, Le Figaro, Les Echos, Le Parisien and L’Equipe, all of whom are thought to be in talks with Orange and Microsoft Bing about building the platform.