Seven West Media Ltd of Australia announced on the 15th that it has reached a preliminary agreement with Alphabet Inc.'s Google. The two parties will establish a long-term partnership. Google will pay Australia for news content on the platform. media.
News Showcase paid-for content
Western No.7 Media stated that it has entered the stage of signing a memorandum with Google. In the future, the two sides will form a long-term partnership and provide news content to Google's news platform "News Showcase" launched in Australia earlier this month.
According to reports, "News Showcase" will finalize an agreement with publishers for platform content and pay seven domestic media outlets, including the "Canberra Times" (Canberra Times), to use their content.
The Australian government is working to formulate a News Media Bargaining Code (News Media Bargaining Code) that will force companies such as Google and Facebook to compensate news publishers for posting news content on their platforms. This legislation will be introduced in the Australian Parliament this week.
This new Australian law will require companies such as Google and the news media to reach a commercial agreement; if it cannot be reached, it will enter a mandatory arbitration for the payment amount.
Oppose legislation requiring platforms to pay for media
And Google's move is the latest strategy to oppose this practice of the Australian government. Google has previously said that Canberra’s approach is "not feasible" and threatened to stop Google search services in Australia once the news media bargaining law becomes law.
Mel Silva, Google's general manager in Australia and New Zealand, said that Google is proud to support original, reliable, and high-quality news. Western Seven Media is welcome to join Google as their main publishing partner in Australia. "News Showcase".
Kerry Stokes, chairman of Western No. 7 Media, issued a statement saying that this is a great result for them and Google.
The financial terms of the agreement have not been announced. Western No.7 Media stated that the agreement with Google will be finalized as a long-term agreement within the next 30 days.
The share price of Western No.7 Media once soared 10.6% in early trading on the Australian stock market, reaching its highest level since March 31, 2019.