Google is reportedly paying The New York Times (NYT) around $100 million as part of a multi-year content deal. The two parties have struck a three-year deal that allows Google to feature content from the NYT on some of its platforms. The agreement also involves content distribution, subscriptions, and using Google tools for marketing and ad-product experimentation.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the deal was signed earlier this year. The NYT described it as an expanded agreement back then but didn’t share the financial terms of the deal. However, sources familiar with the matter recently told the WSJ that the Times is getting close to $100 million from Google over the next three years. As part of this deal, the NYT will participate in Google News Showcase as well. It is a content licensing product that pays publishers to feature their content on Google News and other platforms owned by the company.
Both Google and the Times were reached out for comment after the financial terms of their deal were leaked. While the former didn’t respond, the latter declined to respond beyond its original announcement earlier this year. It’s a major new revenue stream for the publication amid a global economic slowdown. The ad market has been suffering from this slowdown as consumers spend their hard-earned money cautiously. The deal with Google would help the NYT offset some of the revenue declines from the ad business.
Meta didn’t renew its content deal with The New York Times and other publications
This multi-year deal between Google and the Times comes less than a year after Meta declined to renew its contract. The Facebook company had signed deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars with several publications around the world. However, it didn’t renew contracts with US-based firms such as the WSJ, the NYT, and the Washington Post in late July last year. It kept the contracts in some other markets, though. Facebook continued to pay news agencies in the UK, France, Germany, and Australia for showing their content on its platform.
“Most people do not come to Facebook for news, and as a business, it doesn’t make sense to overinvest in areas that don’t align with user preferences,” a Meta spokesperson said following the termination of contracts with US publishers. Meta was reportedly paying the Times more than $20 million per year. The publication is taking more than 30 million per year from Google. The latter also signed a multi-year deal with News Corp in early 2021.