A number of Australian media companies have secured lucrative deals with Google just days before the government plans to pass legislation that would force tech giants to pay for content.

It’s been reported that two of Australia’s biggest free television broadcasters have secured deals worth $47 million collectively.

The sum is markedly higher than the $76 million the tech giant agreed to pay 121 French publishers over three years earlier this week.

“I don’t think that they would have been able to get that sort of money if they had to follow the normal sort of negotiations with a company that’s so powerful,” Paul Budde, an independent internet analyst, told Reuters, referring to the Australian media companies.

Google and Nine declined to comment on unsourced reports in Nine’s newspapers on Wednesday that said the companies had reached an agreement. Seven and Google said two days earlier they had struck a deal, without giving financials.

Though the individual deals mean Google avoids a government-appointed arbitrator with those companies, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he would still press ahead with the law.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which has pushed for tech platforms like Google and Facebook to pay for media content for years, has not yet signed a deal.

Share Story: