Google on Thursday committed to pay 1 billion to news publishers worldwide over the next three years through a new programme for licensing news. The licensing deal is part of a new app called ‘News Showcase.’

“This financial commitment — our biggest to date — will pay publishers to create and curate high-quality content for a different kind of online news experience,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement.

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Google News Showcase, he said, will highlight “the editorial curation of award-winning newsrooms to give readers more insight on the stories that matter, and in the process, helps publishers develop deeper relationships with their audiences.” Participating publishers will be able to curate and decide for themselves, how to present their content on the platform.

The tech giant has already confirmed the deal with almost 200 publications in several countries, including Der Spiegel in Germany and Brazil’s Folha de S. Paulo, but the list lacked any from the United States or France.

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“It will start rolling out today to readers in Brazil and Germany, and will expand to other countries in the coming months where local frameworks support these partnerships,” Pichai said.

Earlier, Google had locked horns with publishers over its reluctance to pay for displaying articles, videos and other content in its search results, which has become a vital path for reaching viewers as print subscriptions fade.