Meta Reportedly Signs $50 Million News Corp Deal As Big Tech's AI Content Arms Race Heats Up

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) signed an artificial-intelligence content licensing deal with News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) (NASDAQ:NWS) that will pay the media company up to $50 million a year, underscoring how aggressively Big Tech is now paying for journalism to help power chatbots and other AI tools.

Three-Year Deal Opens US, UK Archives

The agreement will run at least three years and gives Meta access to News Corp content from the United States and the United Kingdom, reported The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal allows Meta to pull fresh reporting for users of its AI products and to train systems on additional material, including archives.

Meta, OpenAI Race To Lock Content

Meta has been expanding its licensing push as it reshapes its AI organization and races to improve its models. The company struck multiple commercial AI data agreements with publishers, including USA Today, People Inc., CNN and Fox News, with terms that were not disclosed, according to Reuters. Meta also announced in October 2024 that it would use Reuters content to answer real-time news questions in its AI chatbot.

News Corp already cut a separate AI deal in 2024 with OpenAI that the Journal said could be worth more than $250 million over five years.

OpenAI has also inked news partnerships with publishers including The Associated Press, Le Monde and Prisa Media, among others.

Price Action: Meta shares rose 0.23% during Tuesday’s regular session but fell 0.14% in after-hours trading to $654.15, according to Benzinga Pro.

News Corp’s Class A shares fell 0.67% during Tuesday’s regular session and climbed 1.64% in after-hours trading, while Class B shares declined 0.72% during the session and went up 1.65% in extended trading.

META earns a strong Quality rating in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, though its price trend remains negative across the short, medium and long-term periods.

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