Axel Springer and Facebook sign letter of intent on joint global cooperation

Europe’s largest digital publishing house, Axel Springer and social media network Facebook, have signed a letter of intent on joint global cooperation. As a result, content produced by the publisher will be distributed via various Facebook offerings, including ‘Facebook News’. As part of the deal, the media brands involved will also ramp up the sharing of video content on the network. The agreement explicitly excludes the future ancillary copyright for press publishers.

Mathias Döpfner, CEO for Axel Springer SE, said: “This global cooperation is a strategic milestone for us as a publisher and for the industry as a whole. The relationship between content providers and platforms has now become fairer and more predictable for both sides.”

Sheryl Sandberg, COO for Facebook, added: “People looking for news on Facebook should have access to content that captures the breadth and depth of topics that are most meaningful to them. In creating Facebook News and partnering with Axel Springer globally, we’ll be able to give people an even wider choice of reliable journalistic content across a number of news outlets.”

The partnership will begin with a focus on Germany and the US. Content from Bild and Welt, Business Insider and Computer Build will be distributed via Facebook News at its German launch, with Auto Bild following shortly after. The agreement will also allow users registration-free access to a limited amount of paid content from Bild and Welt. 

Going forward, national editions of Insider may also be available in additional international markets such as the UK, which became the first country outside the US to implement the Facebook News platform at the beginning of the year. In-turn Upday, which currently acts as a curator for Facebook News in the UK, will be expanding this role to include Germany as well. In the US, Axel Springer will deepen the existing cooperation between Insider and Facebook. 

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