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News Corp and TikTok held talks over video content deal

The discussions underscore the urgency within News Corp to secure payments from tech firms - but also shines fresh light on TikTok’s news strategy.

John Buckley
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The companies have previously held talks over a possible deal for the use of News Corp content on TikTok that never materialised, underscoring a reluctance among social media companies to pay for content. Shutterstock.

News Corp Australia and TikTok held talks over a content deal that would have seen the Murdoch-controlled company paid for its videos in one of the first such agreements for the Bytedance-owned short form video platform worldwide.

The talks involved senior local executives from each company and were held in the months leading up to Meta’s announcement on 1 March that it would not renew deals with Australian news publishers, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The discussions failed to yield any formal agreements, but underscore the urgency within News Corp to secure payments from tech firms for content, and also shine fresh light on TikTok’s willingness to engage with news publishers.

News Corp Australia declined to comment. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.