August 26, 2026, (Inside AI) — Nine Entertainment is betting that new media bargaining laws will unlock a “world of growth in publishing,” even as the company slashes more than $160 million in costs across its newsrooms.
Chief executive Matt Stanton told analysts on Wednesday that the recently passed legislation, which imposes levies on global tech platforms that fail to strike commercial deals with Australian news outlets, should compel Google and Meta to contribute amounts comparable to their previous 2021 arrangement.
“There’s a number of variables that fly around, not just in news media bargaining, but yes, there is a world of growth in publishing,” Stanton said.
The upbeat outlook arrives during a painful restructuring. Nine announced a redundancy program at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age after a prolonged advertising slump hit the metropolitan mastheads. The company’s business title, The Australian Financial Review, was spared and remains a robust revenue earner.
AI Deals Join Bargaining Code as Revenue Levers
Beyond the bargaining code, Stanton said Nine has a “good pipeline” of AI deals after signing an agreement allowing Microsoft’s Copilot to access its content. The move reflects a broader industry shift where publishers monetize archives and journalism through licensing to large language model providers.
Nine reported broadly flat revenue from publishing and a small decline from streaming and broadcast, despite a record result for Stan. Full-year net profit from continuing businesses was $142 million.
The new laws, passed by Parliament last week, create a levy mechanism for platforms that refuse to negotiate. That shifts leverage back to publishers after Meta walked away from news payments in 2024, triggering industry-wide cost cuts.
Cost Discipline Meets Structural Decline
Stanton said Nine is focusing on “growth assets,” including newly acquired digital outdoor media company QMS, while reducing exposure to “structurally challenged and smaller assets.” The strategy mirrors moves by global publishers like News Corp and Gannett, which have paired AI licensing with aggressive cost controls.
Analysts remain cautious. The bargaining code’s enforcement mechanisms are untested, and platform resistance could delay payments. Nine’s television network remains weighed down by weak advertising, and no timeline was given for when AI deals would materially offset declines.
Still, Stanton’s framing suggests a dual bet: regulatory pressure forces platform payments, while AI licensing opens a new revenue stream. Whether either delivers at scale remains the central question for Nine’s next fiscal year.
