Australia's Seven West Media Ltd became the country's first major news outlet to strike a licensing deal with Google, as the government pushes ahead with a law that would force the internet giant to pay media companies for content.
REFILE-UPDATE 2-Australia s Seven West Media strikes deal with Google for news Reuters 2/15/2021
By Byron Kaye
SYDNEY, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Australia s Seven West Media Ltd became the country s first major news outlet to strike a licensing deal with Google, as the government pushes ahead with a law that would force the internet giant to pay media companies for content.
At an earnings announcement on Monday, Seven, which owns a free-to-air television network and the main metro newspaper in the city of Perth, said it would supply content for Google s News Showcase platform. It did not disclose terms.
The deal shows Seven splitting from rivals News Corp and Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd which have failed to reach agreements with Google and instead backed laws, set to be passed this week, where the government sets the online giant s content fees in the absence of a private deal.