- Nine Entertainment has signed a content licensing deal with Google, making it the second largest media outlet to strike a deal with the tech giant so far
- The broadcaster and publisher will receive $30 million a year to provide news content for Google’s News Showcase platform
- A formal deal is expected to be signed within the next two weeks
- It follows a similar deal between Google and Seven West Media that was signed on Monday, and Google is also said to be in discussions with Guardian Australia
- Australia’s world-first media bargaining code will be debated in parliament this week
- However, the government may hold off on designating Google under the media bargaining code if the search giant can demonstrate its ability get deals done
Nine Entertainment has signed a content licensing deal with Google, making it the second largest media outlet to strike a deal with the tech giant so far.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, which cited “industry sources”, Nine will receive $30 million a year to provide news content for Google’s News Showcase platform. A formal deal is expected to be signed within the next two weeks.
On Monday, Google signed a similar deal with Australia’s largest publisher Seven West Media, and is said to be in discussions with Guardian Australia.
The more major deals follow seven smaller companies — The Canberra Times, The Illawarra Mercury, The Saturday Paper, Crikey, The New Daily, InDaily and The Conversation — which signed content agreements last year.
The media laws, which aim to make Google and Facebook pay local publishers for content that appears on their websites, will be debated in parliament this week.
However, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said the government may hold off on designating Google under the media bargaining code if the search giant can demonstrate its ability get deals done.
“If there are commercial deals in place, then that becomes a different equation,” he said on Monday.
That said, key aspects of the code will remain, including a mandatory government-appointed final arbitration offer and a recognition that the digital giants also deliver value to the media organisations through online reader traffic.