(Reuters) – New Zealand media firm NZME said on Friday it has signed a letter of intent with Google to outline terms for news content delivery, as the country’s publishers take on digital platforms over fair payment for news displayed on their sites.
NZME, which owns the New Zealand Herald, also said it was in discussions with Facebook parent Meta Platforms over various digital projects for next year.
New Zealand’s news publishers association had sought approval to collectively bargain with Meta Platforms and Alphabet Inc unit Google for fair payments, but NZME chose to engage with the tech giants directly.
NZME will enter a 90-day period of negotiation with Google to finalise key terms of the proposed supply of its news content to Google’s News Showcase and other news products, it said on Friday.
The final deal was intended to be for a minimum of five years.
The company’s portfolio includes several regional newspapers, as well as radio channels and online websites.
NZME also said it expects 2022 core earnings between NZ$67 million ($46.63 million) and NZ$72 million, if it finalises the deal with Google at the end of the negotiation period.
($1 = 1.4368 New Zealand dollars)
(Reporting by Riya Sharma; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
