It’s looking like a deal is underway between Facebook and Nine Entertainment, the owner of The Australian Financial Review, over payments for news content, and a letter of intent is likely to be signed soon – potentially this week.
Also in the works is a deal between the social platform and News Corp, publisher of The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Wall Street Journal, which is understood to be close after discussions with local publishers had recently been lagging.
Industry sources suggest the deals are now moving forward after conversations had come to a standstill in recent weeks. This is no guarantee the agreements will be completed, however.
Sources suggested a deal between Nine and Facebook was being thrashed out over the weekend, believed to be worth between $30 million and $50 million a year. The media company is unlikely to officially announce a letter of intent until the full commercial agreement has been determined.
Facebook managed to secure deals with smaller Australian publishers Solstice Media, Private Media and Schwartz Media. However, discussions with Nine, News Corp and Guardian Australia quickly stalled.
At the time, industry sources alleged Facebook was not being genuine in its claims that it wanted to reach an agreement. Senior news media executives reported that commercial negotiations were even further behind than they were before Facebook gave Australian news the chop.
It is expected Facebook will launch its dedicated news product in Australia if deals with local publishers go ahead. It’s already been rolled out in the UK with The Guardian, The Economist and The Mirror on board, and is due to launch in France, Germany and other European countries.
