News Corps global CEO has revealed the media business is in advanced stage discussions about paying for news with Google and Facebook.
Speaking at the UBS TMT virtual conference, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said: The negotiations are ongoing. Its fair to say theyre at an advanced stage and its not in one particular country at the moment, these are global negotiations because were a global company.
The contours of digital content have changed fundamentally. The sort of negotiations that are taking place now were regarded as fanciful by many in the digital industry two or three years ago.
Some, frankly, mocked News Corp for being such a strong advocate of a premium for premium content.
The news of these discussions come as the Federal Government finalises the mandatory News Media Bargaining Code.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that both Facebook and Google will be made to negotiate payments with local media businesses including the ABC and SBS under the code.
Payments will include provisions around the two-way value exchange media businesses and tech giants share. It also stipulates that an independent arbiter be used to determine the final payment if the two parties are unable to reach an agreement.
Google recently revealed it had signed deals with Australian publishers to pay for content as part of the global News Showcase initiative.
However, the tech giant has currently paused the rollout of the initiative in Australia, due to its concerns with the News Media Bargaining Code.
It is unclear whether or not Google will proceed with the News Showcase in Australia following this weeks announcement about the code.
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Tech Giants In "Advanced Discussions" With News Corp About Paying For News - B&T
