Google to waive ad serving fees for news publishers amid virus crisis

(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google would waive off the fee it collects from news publishers using its ad services for the next five months, the search giant said on Friday.

News publishers, especially the print media, have borne the brunt as many advertisers pulled their marketing budgets to rein in costs because of coronavirus-related uncertainty.

Google also said it is working on ways to provide financial support to those news organizations producing original journalism. News partners that meet the requirements will be notified about the program, the company said. (https://bit.ly/2RMAMH9)

Earlier in March, Facebook Inc had pledged https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-facebook/facebook-commits-100-million-to-support-news-media-hurt-by-virus-crisis-idUSKBN21H1VB $100 million in financing and advertising spending to support news organizations reeling from pressure due to the pandemic.

(Reporting by Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)