This was already going to be a tough sell with major publishers.
If Google isn't willing to promise they'll keep it around for a couple years, it simply won't be worthwhile for publishers to invest the engineering (and legal resources) to do these deals and the integrations. I don't expect this latest incarnation to gain traction in its current form.
I do have hope for this subscription model still. If Google or someone else makes a serious go of it, I'll be cheering them on.
I'm not sure where the "trust" issue is. You pay $x/month, you see less ads. If they shut it down, they stop charging you money and you start seeing the ads you saw before.
Because you don't want to see ads and are willing to pay for that? Possibly for a long time; possibly until Google shuts it down. Either way, you can show your support for the content creators who currently rely on ads.
If Google isn't willing to promise they'll keep it around for a couple years, it simply won't be worthwhile for publishers to invest the engineering (and legal resources) to do these deals and the integrations. I don't expect this latest incarnation to gain traction in its current form.
I do have hope for this subscription model still. If Google or someone else makes a serious go of it, I'll be cheering them on.