Media firm NZME may opt to bargain content deal with Google, Facebook
25/11/2021 21:18
Nov 26 (Reuters) - New Zealand media firm NZME NZM.NZ on
Friday said it may opt to engage directly with Google and
Facebook for fair payment for its news content even as the
country's news publishers association sought regulatory approval
for collective bargaining with the digital platforms.
The News Publishers' Association (NPA) on Thursday filed http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-website-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/attachments/NZM/383626/360399.pdf
an application with the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC)
seeking approval on behalf of its members to collectively
bargain with Alphabet GOOGL.O unit Google and Meta Platforms
FB.O , formerly Facebook, for fair payments for news published
on their websites.
NPA represents about 50 daily and community newspapers in
New Zealand.
"While NZME fully supports the NPA application, it is
important to note that participation in the arrangement proposed
by the NPA is voluntary," NZME said in a statement https://www.nzx.com/announcements/383626.
NZME, which owns the New Zealand Herald, added that it may
continue to engage directly with the tech giants and will have
full discretion to choose whether to participate in the
collective bargaining initiative while the NZCC reviews the
application.
NZME's portfolio also includes several regional newspapers,
as well as radio channels and online websites.
Google and Facebook have been required https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-media-idUKKBN2AO2ZL
since March to negotiate with Australian news outlets for
content that drives traffic and advertising to their websites.
Earlier this month, the search engine giant said https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-commits-740-mln-australia-months-after-threatening-pull-out-2021-11-16
it will spend A$1.00 billion ($718.80 million) in Australia
over five years to mend its ties months after a threat to pull
its services from the country.
($1 = 1.3912 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Yamini C S and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru
Editing by Paul Simao)
((Yamini.CS@thomsonreuters.com;))