Facebook to Pay Millions to News Publishers to Become a News Center
Facebook is willing to pay millions to big-name news publishers in order to secure licensing deals to republish stories and other news content.
According to Google, the new, dedicated news tab in the Facebook app will launch this fall.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Facebook's deals could be worth millions of dollars per publisher, with Facebook reportedly offering up to $3 million a year for licensing rights for some outlets. Among those in early discussions are Disney-owned ABC News, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, and The Washington Post.
According to the WSJ report, Facebook plans to include these articles as part of dedicated news section its launching sometime this fall. Publishers would sign deals lasting as long as three years in some cases, and they would get control over how articles appear on Facebook and whether readers would receive only snippets, before being sent to the publisher’s website.
The proposed terms stand in contrast to Apple’s approach to Apple News Plus subscription service, which reportedly has poor payout metrics that forced many in the media industry warning against Apple’s pledge to rescue the news business.
Facebook used to drive a massive amount of referral traffic to news publishers and media companies. But under the pressure to battle misinformation, fake news, and election interference, the company began downgrading pages and other, non-individualized forms of News Feed content a few years ago.
Facebook is currently attracting huge daily usage and alongside Google, it now controls a majority of the digital advertising industry in the US.