ABC signs commercial media agreements with Facebook and Google

What’s the scoop?

The ABC has signed two letters of intent, one with Facebook the other with Google, becoming the latest media platform to confirm commercial agreements with the two tech giants. It has joined ACM, Newscorp, Seven West Media and the Guardian Australia who have all recently come to the party and signed commercial agreements with the giants. 

What do these Commercial Agreements mean?

ABC Managing Director David Anderson said “Once the commercial deals are concluded, the ABC will make new and significant investments in regional services”. The investments are expected to provide a significant boost to many regional centres, which is timely, given many have seen recent withdrawal of media services. 

What does this mean for the news bargaining code?

During the senate hearing into the bargaining code in January, Mark Tapley Director of strategy at ABC said that depending on the amount of revenue received from Facebook and Google, the ABC would focus the funds on refurbishing regional journalism infrastructure. 

ABC’s inclusion in the code, allows the ABC to strengthen their emergency coverage. With 48 locations outside capital cities, a boost to national coverage will assist in building back news coverage in regional centres who have been left without local bulletins. Given the role news media and consistent updates across social media platforms played in the recent bushfires, the commercial agreement between ABC, Facebook and Google is a step forward in a fairer news landscape.

Get in touch with your ADMATICian to find out more!