Let’s make a deal

In a recent post on this site, we reviewed how newspapers are teaming up with other newspaper sites to offer related content, as a way to keep readers from defecting to Google or Yahoo.

In yet another virtual twist sure to stir up this debate, Google and Yahoo have inked deals to compensate top news organizations for their content – this according to a recent article, “New media making deals with ‘old’ news providers” (free registration), published in the San Jose Mercury News.

One such deal is between Google and the Associated Press, where AP will be compensated on a pay per click basis, according to the article. Another example is the partnership between CNN and Yahoo, which sells ads displayed on CNN’s site. It’s another sign heralding a “major shift in the relationship between old media and the new Internet gatekeepers,” as reported in the article. 

It’s not uncommon for internet portals such as Yahoo and AOL to pay for content. But what’s changing, as the article reviews, is the amount of the compensation from ad revenue, which in the future will be weighted heavily toward the organizations generating the content.

The details of these new agreements are hush-hush, but, according to the article, appear to cover access fees tied to news products, as well as to shared revenues from ads displayed alongside AP stores.  Other deals are looking at direct payments, revenue sharing and traffic exchanges that are a win-win for the content provider and Internet gatekeeper.

Bottom line? As the article summarizes, it’s a balance-of-power game, with a goal of seeing who can get the best online audience and keep them the longest.