News Corp joins Google News Showcase, will receive ‘significant payments’
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has confirmed it will receive “significant payments” under Google’s News Showcase program, joining Seven, Junkee, and reportedly Nine in the flurry of deals that have been struck this week.
While Google continues to enter into commercial agreements with mastheads, Facebook confirmed this morning it would remove news from its platform, affecting local people and publishers.
Publishers signed up to News Showcase have their content featured as panels, linking to the site
News Corp’s chief executive, Robert Thomson, did not disclose how much the three year licensing deal is worth (no publisher has), but said it would have “a positive impact on journalism around the globe as we have firmly established that there should be a premium for premium journalism”.
“I would like to thank Sundar Pichai [Google’s CEO] and his team at Google, who have shown a thoughtful commitment to journalism that will resonate in every country,” he continued.
“This has been a passionate cause for our company for well over a decade and I am gratified that the terms of trade are changing, not just for News Corp, but for every publisher.
“For many years, we were accused of tilting at tech windmills, but what was a solitary campaign, a quixotic quest, has become a movement, and both journalism and society will be enhanced.”
In addition to News Corp’s Australian titles – including The Australian, news.com.au, Sky News, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Courier Mail, and its other metropolitan and regional titles – the deal will extend to other international News Corp brands such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Sun, and the New York Post.
The three year agreement will also involve the development of a subscription platform, the sharing of ad revenue through Google’s ad tech services, and investment in audio journalism and video journalism.
The media company’s local boss, Michael Miller, added in a separate statement that the deal was possible “thanks to the vision and diligence of News Corp and its leadership, and also by the quality of our journalism and everyone involved in informing our readers with trusted news.
“We are also grateful to the people at Google, led by Sundar Pichai and his team, who played a pivotal role in this historic development, which will benefit not only our business but journalists around Australia and the world.”
Miller thanked the ACCC and its chair Rod Sims, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Labor, and the Greens, and said: ” “This has always been about securing the future of journalism for the benefit of the people it serves and not about individual companies”.
“This is an important moment for our company, but an even more important moment for journalism and the people it serves, no matter how they consume news,” Miller continued.
“The future of commercial news organisations rests on their ability to establish workable business models in the digital era.
“We will continue to invest in journalism and the skills needed to tell stories in new and evolving ways across our communities, and for a digital future.”
News Corp has yet to provide a comment in response to Facebook following through on its threat to remove news from its platform.
Google’s president of global partnerships, Don Harrison, added: “Today’s agreement with News Corp covers a wide range of our products such as News Showcase, YouTube, Web Stories, Audio and our ad technology.
“News Showcase has partnerships with over 500 publications around the world, demonstrating the value this product can bring to our news partners and readers everywhere. We hope to announce even more partnerships soon.”
News Showcase debuted in the local market almost two weeks ago with a number of launch partners including Australian Community Media, Schwartz Media, Private Media, and The Conversation.
On Tuesday, the government committed to amending the News Media Bargaining Code to ensure some of the digital platforms’ key concerns were addressed, including clarifying that lump sum payments, not payment for clicks, would be required, and shifting the requirement for Google and Facebook to give publishers advanced notice of their algorithm changes.
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Brittney Rigby was Mumbrella's deputy managing editor - news and analysis. She left Mumbrella in April 2021.
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Don Harrison
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News Media Bargaining Code
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