Meta Platforms has signed a multiyear AI content licensing deal with News Corp worth up to $50 million a year, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the agreement Tuesday.
Key Takeaways
- Meta signed a three-year, up-to-$50M/year content licensing deal with News Corp.
- The deal covers WSJ and other News Corp brands for Meta AI’s chatbot and training.
- Joins Meta’s other publisher deals with CNN, Fox News, USA Today, and more.
The three-year deal gives Meta access to News Corp content from the US and UK — including The Wall Street Journal and the company’s other brands — both to power responses in its Meta AI chatbot and to train future models. News Corp confirmed the deal to Engadget but did not disclose financial terms.
The arrangement adds to a growing list of deals Meta has struck with news publishers. The company previously signed multi-year agreements with CNN, Fox News, USA Today, and People, saying the goal was to help Meta AI “deliver timely and relevant content and information with a wide variety of viewpoints.” It’s part of a broader push by publishers to establish licensing standards before AI companies set the terms themselves.
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For News Corp, the Meta deal is the second major AI licensing agreement. The publisher struck a five-year deal with OpenAI valued at around $250 million in 2024. CEO Robert Thomson, speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference before the Meta deal closed, described the company’s approach as a “woo and a sue” strategy. “We’ll woo you. We’d like you to be our partner,” Thomson said. “But if you’re stealing our stuff, we are going to sue you.”
The deal signals that major publishers increasingly see AI licensing as a revenue stream worth pursuing — not just a threat to contain. For smaller news organizations without News Corp’s leverage, the harder question is whether AI companies will come to them, or simply train on whatever they can get for free.
