But how can we help you get access to the subscriptions you already bought? Our goal is to make news subscriptions work better regardless of who you bought your subscription from. So Subscribe with Google will also allow you to link subscriptions purchased directly from publishers to your Google account—with the same benefits of easier and more persistent access.

Calling all news publishers: let’s make subscriptions simple, together

Back in October, we previewed our initial thoughts around Subscribe with Google. For the last six months, we’ve been holding working groups with participants from nearly 60 news organizations across 18 countries to review our ideas and collect feedback. We’ve experimented directly with a smaller number of partners to understand some of the implementation challenges they face, and we’re committed to building a product that works for publishers of various shapes and sizes.

Our hope, shared by our early development partners—McClatchy, the Financial Times, and The Washington Post—is that the user benefits of Subscribe with Google will also manifest as publisher benefits. Craig Forman, President and CEO of McClatchy, notes that Subscribe with Google will help them in “creating a simple and frictionless way to welcome new subscribers.” And Dave Merrell, Lead Product Manager for The Washington Post, told us how valuable it will be to the Post’s business to enable a “seamless [way] for users to sign in and stay logged into their accounts.”



We’re grateful for the insights and for the adventurous spirit of these early partners, who have helped us start to address what Jon Slade, Chief Commercial Officer of the Financial Times, called the “core issues that are essential to a successful subscription business: easy sign-up, frictionless payment, and improved discovery for subscribers.”

As part of the Google News Initiative, our company-wide effort to help journalism thrive in a digital age, today’s launch is an important step toward helping news publishers develop revenue streams beyond advertising. We plan to grow and evolve Subscribe with Google to help publishers identify likely subscribers, grow their subscriber base, and achieve financial sustainability.

If you’re a news publisher or developer, visit our site to learn more.