Google Extends News Corp Partnership with $5-6 Million Annual AI Content Deal

Google has agreed to pay News Corp, the owner of The Wall Street Journal, between $5 million and $6 million annually to develop new AI-related content and products. This arrangement is an extension of the longstanding partnership between the two companies, according to a report by The Information.

The deal allows Google to license News Corp's archived content for training its chatbots, similar to agreements between OpenAI and other news publishers like the Financial Times and Axel Springer. The specific details of the content to be developed under this new arrangement were not provided.

Despite the reported agreement, a News Corp spokesperson previously denied having an AI content licensing deal with Google, though they acknowledged having other partnerships across their businesses. Neither Google nor News Corp have immediately responded to requests for comment on the latest development.

Why this matters: The reported deal between Google and News Corp highlights the growing trend of tech firms partnering with news organizations to license their archived content for training AI chatbots. As AI becomes increasingly important, these collaborations could shape the future of news content creation and distribution.

The shift towards AI-related initiatives in deals between tech firms and news publishers has fueled complaints among media executives about the frequent changes in strategy and the abrupt termination of content creation initiatives by tech companies. This has weighed on the minds of media executives as they have faced off with tech firms over AI licensing deals.

Key Takeaways

• Google to pay News Corp $5-6M annually for new AI-related content and products.
• Deal allows Google to license News Corp's archived content for training chatbots.
• News Corp previously denied having an AI content licensing deal with Google.
• Tech firms partnering with news orgs to license content for AI training is a growing trend.
• Media execs concerned about tech firms' changing strategies and abrupt termination of initiatives.