New study: Google owes German media around 1.3 billion euros

The consultancy, which was founded by Professor Ernst Fehr, one of the world’s leading behavioural economists, has already conducted similar studies in Switzerland, the UK and Poland.

According to a new study commissioned by Corint Media and conducted by behavioural economists at FehrAdvice & Partners (Fehr Advice), Google generates around 3.2 billion euros in revenue in connection with journalistic content. If these revenues were distributed fairly, as is the case with other Google services like YouTube and Google AdSense, media providers would be entitled to around 1.3 billion euros for the use of their content, according to FehrAdvice.

The methodology of the study is based on a behavioural economics experiment measuring real user behaviour – including click behaviour, willingness to pay and implicit preferences. An identical study design has already been used in Switzerland, the UK and Poland. The results of the current study by FehrAdvice are in line with the findings of other surveys, that attribute high value to journalistic media content for Google searches. In 2022, Professor Matthew Elliott from the University of Cambridge came to the conclusion that news content generates around £1 billion per year in revenue for Google and Facebook platforms. Another study conducted by Columbia University and the Brattle Group consultancy even came up with 10 to 12 billion US dollars that Google owes US media.    

To conduct the study, a total of 1,240 users took part in an evidence-based online experiment between 25 and 31 March 2025. The representatively selected participants were shown two different versions of a simulated Google search – a realistic image of Google search and a version from which journalistic media content had been removed. Their click behaviour was examined in this context. Search terms used were those most frequently requested at the time of the study according to Google’s own "Trends" service. These included both searches of an informational nature (e.g. "Donald Trump Ukraine") and searches of a transactional nature (e.g. "iPhone 16"). Afterwards, the participants were asked about their user experience. 73 per cent of users responded that they prefer a Google search with journalistic content. In the users‘ perception, a Google search with journalistic media content would be worth around 24 per cent more.

This study contrasts with a test conducted by Google in various countries, in which the search engine company removed journalistic media content for one per cent of users over a period of ten weeks without previously informing the users concerned. This procedure met with fierce criticism, both because of the restriction of the visibility of journalistic media content and because of the lack of transparency towards the affected users. In France, Google was forced to cancel the experiment prematurely, partly as a result of an interim court relief.

As part of the study, FehrAdvice also estimated Google’s pure revenue from the marketing of search engine advertising. Based on figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), FehrAdvice calculated search engine advertising revenues of around 8 billion euros in Germany. Google also generates revenue from the placement of advertising on third-party sites. According to estimates by Corint Media, the AdSense service generated a further 1.2 billion euros in revenue in Germany. Google generated an estimated 1.5 billion euros in Germany in 2024 from advertising on the YouTube video service. In total, Google would therefore generate around 10.7 billion euros in advertising revenue in the German advertising market. According to FehrAdvice, the value contribution directly attributable to journalistic media content would amount to around 12 per cent of the total advertising revenue.

FehrAdvice was founded by the renowned Austrian-Swiss behavioural economist Professor Dr Ernst Fehr. He teaches at the University of Zurich and his research has focussed on fairness and the distribution of economic benefits, among others. Since 2015, Fehr has led the authoritative rankings of the most influential German-speaking economists, published by Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung, Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Die Presse.

Professor Ernst Fehr emphasised in a press release issued by FehrAdvice, that journalistic diversity is not only important for the formation of individual opinions, but also for the functioning of democracy as such. It is therefore important that platforms like Google remunerate journalistic offerings fairly, as otherwise a central element of the democratic infrastructure would be jeopardised. This is not just a matter of economic fairness, but essential for the future of journalistic diversity and democratic opinion-forming.

Dr Christine Jury-Fischer, Managing Director of Corint Media: "For many years Corint Media has been campaigning for journalistic media providers to receive an appropriate share of the revenues generated by digital platforms. In doing so, we are also fighting against the often-lamented information asymmetry: platforms only have full access to the data on the use of journalistic media content in their ecosystems, and service providers using neutrally certified measurement have not. The new study by FehrAdvice now proves this beyond doubt: Users search Google – one of the main access points for news for many people – for up-to-date, trustworthy and complete information and leave the platform if this is missing. Google’s value creation is therefore largely based on journalistic content. The fact that the digital platforms take this away without giving the content providers an appropriate share poses a massive problem for the financing of our media system. The right conclusions urgently need to be drawn from this to adapt the legal framework – also and above all with a view to the challenges posed by generative artificial intelligence. There must not be frther years of delaying payments, as was the case with the enforcement of press performance protection law."

Download the report: Summary of the FehrAdvice & Partners study