News Corp subscriptions fall in Australia as company takes aim at ‘slimy’ AI slop

News Corp has reported a marginal decline in digital subscriptions across its Australian mastheads, erasing recent gains despite otherwise strong financial results for the global conglomerate. Digital subscribers in the Australian division, which includes major titles like The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, and The Herald Sun, fell from 1,166,000 to 1,162,000 during the last financial year, according to internal data released Thursday.

This dip marks a reversal of momentum for News Corp Australia, which had seen consistent growth in digital subscriptions as it shifted away from its traditional print base. The company's wider news media unit, encompassing publications such as The Sun and The Times in London, and The New York Post, experienced mixed performance. Advertising revenue within this segment faced pressure, declining by 2% for the year ending June 30.

The news media division also incurred costs associated with the launch of the California Post, an expansion of The New York Post into Los Angeles, helmed by Australian veteran Nick Papps. Amid these financial updates, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson used the results release to strongly criticize artificial intelligence models.

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Without our journalists, our authors, our data, our brands and our professional expertise, users would be drowning in a slimy sea of AI slop.

Thomson accused AI developers of "pilfering and profiting from our work," warning that without the content generated by journalists, authors, and data experts, users would be "drowning in a slimy sea of AI slop." He vowed to pursue legal action against these entities, stating that companies utilizing AI derived from stolen content are "patently in possession of stolen goods." News Corp currently holds commercial agreements with AI giants OpenAI and Meta.

These remarks coincide with the Australian government's consideration of expanding its news bargaining laws, which would compel major tech companies to compensate media organizations for using their news content, either through commercial deals or increased levies. The government's proposed changes aim to ensure media outlets are fairly remunerated in the digital age.

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We will pursue those pilferers and companies that are clients of these crass kleptomaniacs should know they are patently in possession of stolen goods.