Amazon signs $25M annual deal with The New York Times for AI content licensing

Amazon and The New York Times have entered into a multi-year licensing agreement under which Amazon will pay USD 20–25 million per year for access to the Times’ editorial content. The content will be used to train Amazon’s proprietary AI models and delivered via services like Alexa, NYT Cooking, and The Athletic. This marks the Times’ first AI-specific content licensing deal and Amazon’s first of its kind with a publisher.

🔍 Why It Matters

1. Breaking New Ground in AI Value Exchange

This deal is a significant step forward in how publishers and AI companies collaborate. It monetizes the Times’ premium journalism while giving Amazon a trusted content asset to improve accuracy and reliability in AI-generated summaries.

2. Revenue Impact for The New York Times

The $20–25 million annual payout represents nearly 1% of The Times’ total revenue in 2024, helping diversify its revenue sources beyond subscriptions and advertising.

3. Strategic Fit for Amazon’s AI Ambitions

As Amazon competes with OpenAI, Google’s Gemini, and other AI platforms, incorporating Times content could elevate Alexa’s responses, its shopping chatbot, and foundation model training quality.

📌 Key Terms and Scope

• Content Included: Core journalism, cooking recipes (NYT Cooking), and sports coverage from The Athletic. The deal excludes content from Wirecutter due to a separate partnership.NewsBytes
• Use Case: Training AI models and embedding news summaries and excerpts in Amazon customer experiences like Alexa+.
• Licensing Duration: Multi-year agreement; annual payment of $20M–25M

📶 Broader Industry Context

• Legal vs Commercial Strategy: The Times is simultaneously suing OpenAI and Microsoft for unauthorized use of its content while partnering with Amazon—typifying a dual strategy of litigation and collaboration.
• Licensing Trend: Other publishers such as News Corp, Axel Springer, Vox Media, and The Atlantic have forged AI content deals, reflecting a broader shift toward monetization over litigation.

✅ What This Signals