Nine Sees Publishing Growth Under New AI Laws as It Cuts More Than $160 Million
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 26
Nine Sees Publishing Growth Under New AI Laws as It Cuts More Than $160 Million
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 26
Summary
Matt Stanton told analysts Nine expects Australia’s revamped media bargaining laws to revive publishing growth, with Google and Meta likely to pay amounts comparable to their 2021 deals.
A recent Microsoft agreement letting Copilot access Nine content and a "good pipeline" of further AI deals underpin that outlook as Parliament’s new regime threatens levies on platforms that refuse news-payment agreements.
More than $160 million in cost cuts over three years are still underway, including redundancies at the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age after a prolonged weak advertising market hit metropolitan mastheads.
$142 million in full-year net profit from continuing businesses came with broadly flat publishing revenue and a slight decline in streaming and broadcast, even as Stan posted a record result and the AFR remained resilient.
Nine said it is shifting toward growth assets such as newly acquired outdoor media company QMS while reducing exposure to structurally challenged smaller businesses.