Meta and Google ready to offer Hollywood studios millions of dollars to strike licensing deals

Meta and Google are reportedly making some major offers to Hollywood studios in an effort to secure licensing agreements that could boost their capabilities in AI-generated video content.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, both the tech giants have put forward deals worth “tens of millions of dollars” to the studios, although the final outcome of the negotiations remains uncertain.

While Netflix and Disney are reportedly cautious about licensing their content, they have shown interest in exploring alternative forms of collaboration. In contrast, Warner Brothers Discovery seems more receptive to the idea of licensing certain programs.

Both companies are banking on these agreements to propel advancements in their respective video generation technologies.

Google recently introduced Veo, a text-to-video model, and enlisted actor Donald Glover to demonstrate its capabilities.

Meanwhile, Meta is actively researching AI-generated video content.

The pursuit of licensing deals with media companies reflects a broader trend within the AI industry. Just this week, OpenAI and NewsCorp announced a multi-year partnership to integrate news content into ChatGPT.

Additionally, Meta is reportedly contemplating compensating publishers for access to news, photos, and videos to train its AI models.

However, Hollywood studios may harbor reservations about entering into such agreements. While AI-based editing tools offer promising opportunities, there are concerns within the entertainment industry regarding the potential misuse of creative work by AI companies.

This issue gained prominence recently when actress Scarlett Johansson accused OpenAI of replicating her voice for its “Sky” assistant in ChatGPT without her consent.

OpenAI has denied these allegations but has yet to provide a comprehensive explanation, leaving questions unanswered.

(With inputs from agencies)