PRESS RELEASE

PMA joins SPUR Coalition as Affiliate Member

15 October 2026

The Public Media Alliance has joined the SPUR Coalition, which was founded by media companies to protect IP and support fair terms for media with AI firms.

At a time when public service media (PSM) face a significant challenge from AI labs, with serious questions over how PSM should respond and engage with such platforms, the Public Media Alliance (PMA) is pleased to join the SPUR Coalition as an Affiliate Member.

SPUR Coalition was formed in February 2026 and has eight founding members: Sky News, the BBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, MediaHuis, the Financial Times, AP, and CMA Media.

Its mission is to act as an industry voice, shaping the technical and commercial environment within which IP owners can control and monitor the use of their content by generative AI applications. SPUR works to ensure that media owners can exercise their rights and if they choose to license, ensure the transparent flow of data that will allow them to secure a fair exchange of value for the use of their work across the generative AI value chain. Its focus is developing recommended standards and defining best practice.

As well as the founding partners, the Coalition has over 80 other publishers and trade bodies that have joined as members.

There is already significant overlap in the values and aims of PMA and SPUR, which both seek to support editorial media by leveraging international coordination. The two associations also share several members: CBC/Radio-Canada, RNZ, and TVO, as well as the BBC, as a founding member of both.

The affiliate membership will see PMA receive briefing reports from SPUR, as well as the opportunity to sit as observers during working group meetings shaping rights-reservation and licensing standards and supporting implementation guidance of full SPUR members. PMA will also support the mission of SPUR, and promote the Coalition to PMA members, which will receive a 20 percent discount on their SPUR membership.