Facebook signs deal to pay News Corp for content in Australia

Facebook Inc reached a multi-year deal with News Corp in Australia that lets its users access stories through the Facebook News service, resolving a dispute in that country.

The pact includes content from News Corp’s Australian national newspaper, as well as the Daily Telegraph in New South Wales, the Herald Sun in Victoria and the Courier-Mail in Queensland, the publishing company said in a statement on Monday. Sky News Australia also reached a parallel deal with Facebook.

The deal means Facebook users will gain access to news articles behind a paywall and breaking news video from News Corp’s publications in Australia.


News Corp is the first major media outlet to strike a Facebook deal under controversial new laws that allow an Australian government-appointed arbitrator set fees if companies fail to do so.

“We’re glad to have this deal in place and look forward to bringing Facebook News to Australia,” Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president of global news partnerships, said in a statement.

This is the latest pact News Corp has struck with tech giants after years of demanding payments from them. Last month, it reached a three-year deal with Alphabet Inc’s Google in which the search giant will also pay for news.

“The agreement with Facebook is a landmark in transforming the terms of trade for journalism and will have a material and meaningful impact on our Australian news businesses,” News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said in a statement that thanked the Australian Prime Minister, treasurer and chief antitrust regulator by name.

Facebook is in discussions with Australian publishers ahead of plans to launch its News tab in Australia.

Its shutting out all media content in the country for a week last month angered world leaders, as the blackout included emergency services and government health pages.