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
The Associated Press (AP) announced yesterday that it will charge its members for online content, starting on January 1, 2006. The decision occurred at its annual board meeting.

Until the new pricing arrangement takes place, news sites that purchase AP content for their print editions have been able to use the same content on their websites at no additional charge. No pricing scheme has been announced, but the AP did say that it would increase its fees less than usual this year to ease the transition.

Burl Osborne, the chairman of the AP's board, stated that since the creation of the internet, the "AP's philosophy was to promote member efforts to develop this new medium, and to give those fledgling online efforts time to grow."

The price increase was not the only plan mentioned at the meeting. According to an AP report in the New York Times, "The AP also plans to introduce a new multimedia package designed to appeal to young adults, a prized advertising demographic deeply immersed in the Internet and other digital media."