In this year, many publishers formalized their stances towards AI companies. This led to many deals between the two.
In July 2023, the Associated Press and OpenAI signed a deal. This was followed by a deal between OpenAI and Axel Springer, who owns Bild, Welt, Business Insider and Politico.
These deals are usually content license agreements where publishers allow AI companies to use their content (often paywalled) to train large language models. Publishers receive attribution for content that appears on AI companies’ search or chatbot platforms, and access to technology they can use to create AI-powered products.
What large publishers haven’t signed major deals yet with AI companies? A number of media firms have taken a different approach and are pursuing legal action against AI companies. The New York Times filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI on December 20, 2023, claiming that its copyrighted article were used to train AI model. Raw Story, AlterNet and The Intercept sued Microsoft and OpenAI in December 2023, alleging that their copyrighted articles were used to train AI models. Eight daily newspapers sued in April, as did a group of Canadian publishers in November. News Corp sued Perplexity for violating copyright and trademark laws in October, alleging that the company misappropriated content from The Wall Street Journal & The New York Post.
Here is a list of the major deals between publishers and AI tech firms in 2024. In chronological order:
March 13: Le Monde, Prisa & OpenAI.
French newspaper Le Monde and Spanish Media Company Prisa sign a content licensing agreement with generative AI company OpenAI to put summaries and attribution of their news content into the ChatGPT chatbot. The publishers agree to use OpenAI’s tech to develop and build AI-powered projects and products.
It also has the benefit of consolidating our model by providing an additional source of revenue over a period of time, including a portion of neighboring rights. In a post announcing this deal, Louis Dreyfus wrote that a portion of these rights will be returned to the newsroom in an ‘appropriate and fair’ manner, as defined by the law.
Financial Times & OpenAI, April 29,
U.K. Business publication the Financial Times signs a contract with OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal is worth between $5 million and $10 million a yearly.
Axel Springer & Microsoft, April 29
Axel Springer extends its partnership with Microsoft in order to develop new AI products. The two companies will work together on advertising, content, and cloud computing. The news publisher will use Microsoft Advertising’s Chat Ads API for monetizing chat-based experiences and work with the technology company to launch an AI chat experience.
Dotdash Meredith & OpenAI May 7
Dotdash Meredith Signs a Deal with OpenAI. OpenAI’s technology will be used as part of the deal to improve D/Cipher, the company’s advertising-targeting tool. Later, it was reported that the deal is valued at at least $16million. Neil Vogel, CEO at Dotdash Meredith said, “We haven’t been shy about the idea that AI platforms should compensate publishers for their content, and that content needs to be appropriately attributed.” This deal is a testimony to the great work OpenAI does on both fronts in order to partner with creators as well as publishers and ensure that the Internet is healthy for the future.
The 8th of May: Informa and Microsoft
U.K. B2B publisher Informa signed a deal with Microsoft giving it access to their data until 2027. The FT reported that the deal was worth more than $10m in its first year.
News Corp, OpenAI (May 22)
The Wall Street Journal reported that News Corp signed a five-year contract with OpenAI for content licensing, worth more than $250 million.
Robert Thomson, CEO at News Corp, stated in a press release that he believes an historic agreement will establish new standards for truth, virtue, and value in the digital era.
The Atlantic, Vox Media, and OpenAI
The Atlantic and Vox Media announced separate deals with OpenAI on the same day.
According to Nicholas Thompson, The Atlantic CEO, “We believe people searching using AI models will become one of the fundamental methods that people will use to navigate the web in future.” The Atlantic’s product teams will have access to OpenAI technology to provide feedback on the news experiences in ChatGPT, and other OpenAI products. They will also be able to create a new experimental website called Atlantic Labs where they will develop AI powered products and features. Vox Media plans to use OpenAI’s technology for its Forte first-party data platform, as well as content discovery and recommendation on its websites.
Time & OpenAI
Time and OpenAI have signed a multi-year agreement, giving OpenAI access Time’s 100 year history of content.
Time, Der Spiegel Fortune, Entrepreneur The Texas Tribune & Perplexity July 30
Five publishing companies — including Automattic, the owner of WordPress — join a revenue-share program offered by AI search engine Perplexity. Time, Der Spiegel Fortune, Entrepreneur, and The Texas Tribune will be able to make money from advertising on Perplexity’s platform. The business is set to launch in November.
Financial Times, Axel Springer The Atlantic Fortune & ProRata
The Financial Times Axel Springer The Atlantic Fortune (and Universal Music Group), and Fortune (and Universal Music Group), agree to license their respective content to generative AI startup ProRata.ai. Axios reported that the deal offers 50% of subscription revenues made from an AI-search engine which launches in December.
Conde Nast & OpenAI August 20
Conde Nast signs a multi-year licensing agreement with OpenAI.
Over the past decade, news and digital content have faced serious challenges, as many technology companies have eroded publishers’ ability to monetize their content, including most recently, traditional search. In an internal memo, CEO Roger Lynch writes that our partnership with OpenAI will help us recover some of this revenue and allow us to continue protecting and investing in our journalism and creative efforts.
1 October: FT, Reuters Axel Springer Hearst USA Today Network & Microsoft.
4 Publishers sign up to have their content featured in Copilot Daily. This is a new feature of Microsoft’s Copilot AI-powered Assistant that provides news summaries. TechCrunch reported that Microsoft will pay Financial Times, Reuters Axel Springer Hearst, USA Today Network and Hearst to be a part of the product.
Hearst & OpenAI, October 8
Hearst announced a new licensing agreement with OpenAI which will include content from over 40 local papers and 20 magazines. Hearst Magazines President Debi Chirichella said, “Our partnership will help us evolve our future magazine content.”
This collaboration ensures our high-quality writing, expertise, cultural and historic context, attribution and credibility will be promoted as OpenAI’s products evolve. The Meta AI chatbot can be found on all of the company’s platforms including Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram.
DMG media, Sky News & ProRata on November 20
U.K. media companies DMG Media and Guardian Media Group, as well as Sky News, have signed content licensing agreements with ProRata. Press Gazette reported that DMG Media made a “significant” investment in ProRata. DMG Media also makes a “significant investment” in ProRata, Press Gazette reported.
Part of my mandate is really growing and evolving this program. This is just the first version. Jessica Chan, Perplexity’s new head for publisher partnerships, told Digiday that she was looking forward to working with partners on different product collaborations early next year.
December 5: Future & OpenAI.
Future plc, which owns a variety of websites, including Tom’s Guide and TechRadar, signs a deal with OpenAI for content licensing. According to a press release, Future uses OpenAI’s tools in sales, marketing, and editorial functions. Future had already launched AI bots using OpenAI’s technology on the Tom’s Hardware site and Who What Wear site.
Lee Enterprises & OpenAI December 9
Lee Enterprises signs a content agreement with ProRata. ProRata’s technology will personalize local content and create ads on Lee’s local news sites.
