|
04/18/2005
AP
board gives approval to new online licensing fee
NEW YORK -- The Associated Press Board of Directors has approved
a new online licensing structure to cover use of AP content
on newspaper and local radio and television station member
Web sites. Starting next year, all members who use AP content
in their online operations will begin paying a license fee.
Previously, AP newspaper and local radio and TV station members
had been allowed to repurpose for the Web the AP materials
received for their print publications and on-air broadcasts
at no additional charge. While ending this "free re-use"
policy, AP intends to couple this paid online license with
an annual assessment increase that is smaller than the yearly
average for the past decade, said Burl Osborne, chairman of
the AP board and publisher emeritus of the Dallas Morning
News.
"Since the dawn of the commercial Internet age, AP has
encouraged its members to use AP content in their online operations,"
said Osborne.
"AP's philosophy was to promote member efforts to develop
this new medium, and to give those fledgling online efforts
time to grow," he said.
The board has periodically reviewed AP's online policies since
1995 and now has concluded that "growth has materialized
for member online operations," said Osborne.
AP President and CEO Tom Curley said AP representatives will
begin meeting soon with newspaper and local radio and TV members
to discuss the new licensing structure and the impact it will
have on individual AP members. The new online license fee
will take effect Jan. 1, 2006.
A digital advisory committee will be set up to help with the
transition, said Osborne. The first meeting of that committee
is expected to be held in October.
Currently, newspapers that pay to use AP content online generally
are charged according to their print circulation, and local
radio and TV station members according to market size. The
method for determining the licensing fee has not yet been
determined.
The new strategy is aimed at keeping the news cooperative
on a stronger financial footing by building revenue in new
media markets as it copes with shifting finances in traditional
markets.
The Associated Press is the world's oldest and largest newsgathering
organization, providing content to more than 15,000 news outlets
with a daily reach of 1 billion people around the world. Its
multimedia services are distributed by satellite and the Internet
to more than 120 nations.
The AP corporate Internet site is at www.ap.org
Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720
|
