Facebook had also publicly framed its Australian position around prior and planned news-industry investment, making a named, multiyear News Corp agreement a concrete commitment rather than a general support pledge.
First-order effects
News Corp gains a three-year distribution and payment arrangement for its news on Facebook News in Australia, while Facebook can continue offering News Corp material to Australian users through that product.
The agreement gives Facebook a negotiated publisher relationship in Australia after the bargaining code put compensation for news content at the center of platform-publisher dealings.
Second-order effects
Other Australian publishers gain a clearer reference point for negotiating with Facebook: a large media owner has secured a defined multiyear arrangement tied to Facebook News.
Facebook’s news product becomes more dependent on bilateral content agreements, reinforcing the value of publishers with recognizable titles and established negotiating scale.
Third-order effects
The deal points toward a market in which regulation channels platform funding for news into direct licensing arrangements, rather than voluntary industry-support programs alone.
For News Corp, the agreement fits a broader strategy of monetizing content through large technology distributors, later reflected in its multiyear OpenAI content agreement.
The trend: News publishers are increasingly turning platform distribution into negotiated, multiyear content-licensing revenue as governments press digital platforms to compensate news providers.
@meadea @JulianBAbbott So a website known for not stemming the flow of misinformation has signed a deal with a tabloid that enables misinformation and perpetuates conspiracies. Vale Facebook.
VC firms Blackrock and Vanguard, which own controlling shares in the largest social media companies *and* the largest traditional media companies that 1,000,000x their relevance and reach, should have a seat at antitrust reform table. A hot seat, that is.
It makes me sick that the Murdoch family's evil empire has the power to force a nation's government to extort other companies on its behalf. But that's what happened in Australia, and of course the Murdoch empire is bragging about it. https://newscorp.com/...
Facebook has argued consistently that its negotiations with Australian govt were really negotiations with the Murdochs. Which is what the Murdochs are now saying out loud. https://twitter.com/...
Vanguard is FB's #1 shareholder with its parent, total stock market index, and 500 Index fund controlling about 12% of the company's stock. It also holds 13% of NewsCo's stock as its 2nd largest shareholder. So Vanguard has a huge stake in this deal. https://gizmodo.com/...
Well how about that. Facebook and News Corp have a deal in Australia (just like they do in the US). News Corp: “Mark Zuckerberg and his team deserve credit for their role in helping to fashion a future for journalism, which has been under extreme duress for more than a decade.”
As I said at the time, this whole fiasco was nothing but a clash of media titans. Now they've joined forces to make the taxpayer subsidise them. I will keep saying this over and over: Zuck is just a younger version of Murdoch. https://twitter.com/...
It's only a matter of time between @Facebook and @newscorp do this in the US. Then we'll all do our Fred Willard impression and ask, “Wha happened?” https://twitter.com/...
Top quote here. “Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch led a global debate while others in our industry were silent or supine as digital dysfunctionality threatened to turn journalism into a mendicant order.” ie. We were able to make politicians do things. https://newscorp.com/...
Battle of the billionaires: Facebook agrees to pay News Corp for content in Australia. Australian law is generating more than A$100m a year for media industry @FT https://www.ft.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@FBoversight Good lord!!! match made in heaven, I mean hell! This is the most evil deal of all time!!! Well, they peddling the same sht - lies, hate & nazi propaganda so this makes totally sense! This will not end well for humanity
Unless of course one is happy to settle for opaque deal making, lack of obligation to support journalism, and risk of regulation further reinforcing how intertwined news media's business interests are with a few large tech companies. https://twitter.com/...