Meta signed a multi-year artificial intelligence licensing agreement with News Corp to utilize content from The Wall Street Journal and other News Corp publications.
The deal allows Meta to use the publisher’s content for chatbot responses and AI model training. This agreement represents a significant financial commitment in the ongoing effort by tech companies to secure licensed data for generative AI systems. News Corp has previously established similar arrangements with other major AI developers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Meta will pay News Corp up to $50 million annually under the three-year contract. The agreement covers content from The Journal and other News Corp brands in the United States and United Kingdom.
News Corp confirmed the deal to Engadget but did not disclose specific financial terms. A Meta spokesperson also confirmed the agreement, noting that Meta has signed multiple multi-year licensing deals in recent months. These previous agreements include outlets such as USA Today, People, CNN, and Fox News.
Meta stated that integrating diverse news sources aims to improve Meta AI’s ability to deliver timely and relevant content. The company said the goal is to provide a wide variety of viewpoints and content types through these partnerships.
News Corp previously signed a five-year licensing deal with OpenAI valued at approximately $250 million. During a recent appearance at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson discussed the company’s content strategy. Thomson stated the company was in advanced negotiations with other parties.
Thomson described the company’s approach as a “woo and a sue” strategy regarding content licensing. “We have what you might call a woo and a sue strategy,” Thomson said. “We’ll woo you. We’d like you to be our partner. But if you’re stealing our stuff, we are going to sue you.”
News Corp is the parent company of The Wall Street Journal and other major media brands. Meta has been reorganizing its AI teams as it works to develop its next model.
