News Corp signs historic deal with Google

News Corp has inked a global licensing deal with Google that will see the tech giant make ‘significant payments’ to the publisher for displaying its content.

The three-year agreement between News Corp and Google will include the development of a subscription platform, the sharing of ad revenue and further investments in audio and video journalism with YouTube.

News Corp has inked a global licensing deal with Google that will see the tech giant make “significant payments” to the publisher for displaying its content.

The company’s chief executive, Robert Thomson, announced the “historic multi-year partnership” for publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post, The Times of London, The Sun and News Corp Australia publications including The Australian.

The three-year agreement will include the development of a subscription platform, the sharing of ad revenue and further investments in audio and video journalism with YouTube.

Mr Thomson said the deal would have “a positive impact on journalism around the globe as we have firmly established that there should be a premium for premium journalism”.

“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,” he said in a statement.

Josh Frydenberg welcomed the deal on Thursday, as the federal government moves to pass its proposed mandatory news media bargaining code, which is likely to become law next week.

News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller said the deal was “an important step that recognises the true value of the unique content we create”.

“We appreciate Google recognising and remunerating creators and copyright owners, which is a vital step towards a more secure future for Australian journalism and original reporting, and our role in keeping communities informed,” Mr Miller said.

The Treasurer refused to be drawn on whether Google — which has this week signed agreements with Seven, Nine and now News Corp — would be exempted from the code if the legislation passes the Senate.

“I don’t want to pre-empt decisions around the designation process,” he said. “What I have said consistently, privately and publicly, is that if commercial deals are struck, that changes the equation.”

While news publishers have supported the proposed code, Google had previously threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia if it became law.

Facebook, which had warned that it would remove Australian news from local users’ feeds if the code became law, followed through on its threat on Thursday.

Despite the Facebook news blackout, Mr Frydenberg doubled down on the importance of the code, saying the government wanted the digital world to replicate the rules of the physical world.

“We’ve been sticking to our principles and we have been sticking to our guns and that’s why you’ve actually seen movement with Google,” he said.

The News Corp deal followed announcements this week by Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media and smaller publisher Junkee media.

Other agreements between Google and media outlets including Guardian Australia and the ABC are expected imminently.

Mr Frydenberg said the government was looking for similar deals to be struck with regional players. “Other countries are watching, but also Google and Facebook and other digital ­giants are very focused on what it means, as far as a precedent goes, for other countries,” he said.

Google’s president of global partnerships, Don Harrison, said the deal demonstrated the value of News Showcase, which lets publishers choose which of their ­stories are promoted on Google’s apps and search pages.

“We hope to announce even more partnerships soon,” he said.