Nine signs a five-year deal with tech giants Google and Facebook

Nine Entertainment is one of the last major media players to sign a deal with Facebook and Google to ensure the international tech giants pay for the use of their journalism content.

New Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby. Picture: Britta Campion

Nine Entertainment is one of the last major media players to sign a deal with Facebook and Google to ensure the international tech giants pay for the use of their journalism content.

On Tuesday the multimedia company confirmed a five-year agreement with Google and three years with Facebook after months of negotiations but it remains unclear exactly how much money will be paid.

In a statement issued by Nine to the ASX, it confirmed the joint agreement had finally been reached.

“The deal with Facebook is for the supply of news video clips and access to digital news articles on Facebook news products, for a term of up to three years, with a minimum amount payable over the term,” Nine said.

“The five-year agreement with Google includes the supply of news content (excluding video) for Google’s News Showcase and other news products.”

Nine is the owner of Channel 9, newspaper publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review and radio stations 2GB, 3AW and 4BC.

While the exact amount being paid to Nine was not disclosed, its expected to equate to hundreds of millions of dollars.

In Nine’s statement it said, “Google will also expand its marketing initiatives across Nine’s platforms. The amount payable is a fixed annual fee with modest growth in the early years”.

Nine has followed News Corp, Seven West Media and the Guardian, which have already signed content sharing deals with Facebook and Google.

Earlier this year the federal government was in tense talks with the international media giants and passed the News Media Bargaining Code through parliament.

Under the code it ensures news media businesses will be remunerated for their journalism that appears on the digital giants’ platforms to attract viewers.

Nine’s chief executive officer Mike Sneesby issued a note to staff on Tuesday and said the deal, “will recognise the value of the work we produce right across our business”.

“These deals will contribute to supporting the world-class journalism on which our business thrives and to give us opportunity to pursue growth that will continue to underpin the long-term strength of our business.”

He said the deals helped build the company’s business in “an increasingly competitive market”.

If the tech giants don’t adhere to the legislation they could face multimillion-dollar fines.

Nine said it expected the growth in publishing earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be between $30 million and $40 million in the 2022 financial year.