As Tech Firms Prioritize AI in News Dealings, Other Deals Get Cut

Google has agreed to pay Wall Street Journal owner News Corp between $5 million and $6 million annually to fund the news organization's development of new artificial intelligence–related content and products, according to a News Corp staffer and another person close to the deal. The new and previously unreported arrangement follows Google’s recent termination of another content partnership with The Journal, resulting in layoffs at the news organization.

The new arrangement, part of a longstanding partnership between Google and News Corp, shows how tech firms are making AI-related initiatives the focus of deals with news publishers even as they cut spending on other news-related deals. That shift has fueled complaints among media executives about tech companies’ habit of frequently changing strategy and pulling the plug on content creation initiatives. And it has weighed on media executives’ minds as they have faced off with tech firms over AI licensing deals.