News Corp eyes multi-LLM licensing strategy after $250 million OpenAI deal

News Corp is reportedly exploring a multi-licensing strategy for large language models (LLMs), in a move that signals its intent to diversify AI partnerships beyond its existing OpenAI agreement, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The media giant, which inked its first major AI content licensing deal with OpenAI in May 2024 — estimated to be worth around $250 million over five years — is now said to be evaluating opportunities with other LLM developers, as per a Digiday report.

Such a move would align with the non-exclusive nature of most AI licensing agreements, allowing publishers to distribute their content across multiple AI platforms.

Chief Executive Robert Thomson has previously referred to News Corp’s AI strategy as a “woo and sue” approach, indicating a blend of collaboration and legal assertiveness. During the company’s August earnings call, Thomson was reportedly in direct talks with several LLM firms, though Digiday could not confirm which specific companies were involved.

While Google initiated licensing discussions with selected publishers earlier this year, it has remained more discreet about its partnerships than OpenAI. News Corp, a long-time user of Google products such as Gmail and Workspace, has also been examining potential collaborations with Google Gemini, which powers the company’s AI Overviews feature, according to Digiday sources. News Corp declined to comment on whether formal AI licensing talks were underway with Google.

At The Times Tech Summit in London on 21 October, Thomson confirmed that News Corp currently holds “significant” partnerships with OpenAI and Apple, alongside a broader collaboration with Google. He cautioned, however, that not all technology companies are mindful of their societal obligations.

Thomson said that it has a social consequence when you have fewer journalists and it has a social consequence if the ability to write books in a meaningful, sustainable way is undermined. He stated that there are people who are aware of that — Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai at Google, Tim Cook, and one can talk with them in a way that they understand their business needs this constant creative flow.

Thomson also criticised AI firms for spending billions on chips and data centres while contributing little back to the newsrooms and creators whose work fuels their models. His comments underscore a growing industry sentiment that AI companies must compensate publishers fairly to maintain high-quality data sources for training.

Sources told Digiday that News Corp’s leadership believes its scale as a global media powerhouse gives it leverage to negotiate directly with AI platforms. Its broader goal, they added, is to help publishers define how their content is used by LLMs, set clear crawling guidelines, and determine the commercial terms — a strategy internally dubbed “crawl me maybe.”

However, implementing a “permissioned wall” or pay-per-crawl model remains technically complex, with significant infrastructure and enforcement challenges. News Corp’s next major update on its AI ambitions is expected during its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings call on 6 November.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned conglomerate isn’t alone in pursuing a multi-LLM play. People Inc. CEO Neil Vogel recently said that after blocking AI crawlers earlier this year — via Cloudflare’s new feature — his company noticed a marked shift in attitude from AI firms, signalling that publishers are regaining some bargaining power in their negotiations with Silicon Valley.

As AI companies race to secure premium training data and media groups look to reclaim value from their intellectual property, multi-LLM licensing deals may soon become the industry norm — and News Corp appears poised to lead that charge.