The chief executive of global publishing company News Corporation has blamed artificial intelligence companies for a decline in subscribers, saying they “pilfer and profit” from the work of its journalists.
In his comments on the company’s full year results, Robert Thomson vowed to “pursue those pilferers“ and said: ”Companies that are clients of these crass kleptomaniacs should know they are patently in possession of stolen goods.”
He said News Corp had “trusted content relationships” with OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, and Meta, which uses AI across its Facebook and Instagram platforms, and that it was in “advanced discussions with several other companies.”
He described News Corp’s approach to content harvesting by AI engines as “woo and sue,” with those not susceptible to being wooed became the subject of “aggressive action.”
News Corp CEO Robert Thomson arrives at the Sun Valley lodge for the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, United States on July 8, 2025. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
To date the only action brought by News Corp over the issue has been a suit by its subsidiary, Dow Jones, against Perplexity, which describes itself as “a free AI-powered answer engine.”
The suit alleges the AI firm conducted a “massive amount of illegal copying” from The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal.
Perplexity lost a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in August last year, and the case is proceeding.
Research has shown that AI-generated summaries are affecting click-throughs to news sites, and publishers fear that is triggering a decline in subscriber sign-ups.
News Corp Australia’s internal data shows digital subscriber growth plateauing from 1,166,000 to 1,162,000 during the year.
Despite that, the company reported an 11 percent increase in revenue to $3.32 billion ($2.34 billion) in the June quarter, driven by growth in digital real estate services, book publishing, and Dow Jones.
Its News Media unit, which includes its Australian titles, benefited from content licensing revenue and the World Cup, giving it a 5 percent boost in revenue to $813.27 million.
Overall advertising revenue, including from Dow Jones, grew 3 percent to $514.32 million.
Fourth quarter net income from continuing operations went up 167 percent to $325.88 million, while earnings per share were $0.47, up from $0.13.
Thomson said the June quarter performance was the highest profitability on record.
Full-year revenue was up 7 percent to $12.8 billion.
“Our record performance is a product of sustained focus on, and reinvestment in, News Corp’s core growth engines and our transformation to a digital-first company underpinned by insightful and trusted content,” Thomson said.
A Reuters Institute study this year, which surveyed over 97,000 people across 48 markets, found organic Google search traffic down 33 percent globally year-on-year, with news executives forecasting a 43 percent fall in search referrals within three years.
Back in 2023, News Corp Australia CEO Michael Miller admitted to the World News Media Congress that it was using artificial intelligence to create 3,000 local stories a week as part of its focus on local content to drive subscriptions. He said it also used AI to cover daily topics such as the weather, fuel prices, and traffic conditions.
