Google launches newspaper subscription service to compete with Apple

Google has launched a digital newspaper and magazine subscription service less than a day after rival Apple.

Eric Schmidt, chief executive of the web search giant, yesterday said Google would take 10pc of the cash collected via its One Touch digital newsagent service, with 90pc going to publishers.

Apple’s system will see it take a 30pc cut from subscriptions bought through iPad and iPhone apps.

Google will also provide publishers with the names and email addresses of readers, while Apple has refused to share customers’ details.

“You’ve got a very publisher-friendly approach; we basically don’t make any money on this,” Mr Schmidt said during a speech in Berlin yesterday. “The most important thing is to get the money to people who are producing high-quality content.”

Mr Schmidt said Google would not profit from the service, and explained that the company’s 10pc cut was to cover costs.

The service is available now in the UK, the US, Canada, France, Spain, and Germany. It will be expanded to other countries soon. It is available via tablet devices, smartphones and PCs.

Google said publishers can charge readers as much or as little as they like and offer single issue purchases to long subscriptions. The company has been working on the project for some time, but is understood to have brought the launch forward following Apple’s demand yesterday for a 30pc cut of in-app subscriptions.
Source: The Telegraph