AP will lower newspaper fees and increase online revenue

The Associated Press hopes to negotiate more licensing deals with Web sites while lowering fees for U.S. newspapers, Chief Executive Tom Curley said Tuesday.

The AP is trying to find new sources of revenue to offset reduced income from newspapers and broadcasters.

In addition to having an increased interest in online advertising, the AP is again lowering its cost to U.S. papers next year.

The AP had lowered U.S. newspapers by $30 million this year. The AP will now reduce fees by a total of $45 million for newspapers and broadcasters next year, Curley said.

AP's actions are a response to a shift of more ads to less-expensive alternatives on the Internet. Its four largest online deals are now with Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and AOL.

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