Univision’s Winning Bid for Gawker, Sharp Declines in Facebook Traffic, IBT’s European Expansion, Gannett’s Latest Offer for Tronc, Women in Media, AEM Mobile Tip: Layout Renditions, AEM Mobile 2016.10 Release
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about Univision’s winning bid for bankrupt Gawker, publishers seeing double-digit declines in traffic from Facebook, IBT Media’s European expansion, Gannett’s new bid for Tronc, and more.
- Pending expected approval by a federal bankruptcy judge this week, Spanish-language broadcaster Univision will pay $135 million for Gawker Media, a bid that beat out a lower offer by Ziff Davis, according to a New York Times report. It said the company will not assume the $140 million judgement in favor of former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, who in a highly publicized case sued the embattled news site for invasion of privacy. Following the announcement, several news outlets examined how the purchase plays into Univision’s plan to expand its digital assets to reach a broader demographic, including other minorities and younger consumers. Committing to more than $300 million in digital media investments this year, Univision also took a 40% stake in The Onion in January in addition to a 50% stake in ABC’s former joint venture Fusion, Forbes said. Last spring it also purchased The Root, a site co-founded by Henry Louis Gates Jr. aimed at African-American readers.
- According to web analytics firm SimilarWeb, Facebook traffic to top news sites fell sharply in the second quarter—up to 50% for some media outlets compared with the previous quarter. The numbers are for desktop visits only, meaning the declines may in part be related to the growing shift to mobile. But a Fortune post said, given similar measurements from other services over the past several months, such significant drops in traffic may also reflect the impact of recent Facebook algorithm changes that favor posts from users’ family and friends over those from media sites. The SimilarWeb report shows IBT Media, publisher of Newsweek, was among the hardest hit, with a 47% drop in Facebook traffic in Q2, along with TheStreet.com, which saw a 53% decline.
- Things are looking good for IBT Media in Europe, however. While last month it cut three quarters of its editorial staff in the U.S., the publisher of Newsweek is expanding its operations in EMEA, Digiday said, growing staff there by 20% in the past six months. Not only is it adding to its European newsrooms, but it also launched a branded content studio and is expanding its events business in the region. In the article, COO Greg Witham said branded content—versus reliance on a mass audience and display ads—is proving key in Europe, with the majority of its advertisers looking for a “native solution.” With London serving as its hub, the publisher plans to set up other offices as its branded content business grows. On the events side, Witham couldn’t offer specifics but said IBT will launch day conferences and weeklong events this fall, customized across various content verticals.
- Gannett’s attempt to acquire Tronc, formerly Tribune Publishing, continued to make headlines. This week, The Wall Street Journal said the USA Today publisher upped the ante in its attempt to reach a deal with Chicago Tribune parent Tronc, reportedly sweetening its earlier $15-a-share offer, which Chairman Michael Ferro and the company’s board had rejected. No details on the new bid were available, according to a post on Fortune. WSJ said if successful in its aim, Gannett stands to control 20% of the newspaper publishing market.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- Women in Media: Our August installment covers Arianna Huffington’s latest move, a look at Joanna Cole’s role as “The Cosmo Woman,” Girls Who Code participants’ visit to the Times, a Slack community focused on the gender pay gap, and more.
- This week Monica Murphy offers an Adobe Experience Manager Mobile Tip on how to use the AEM Mobile layout renditions feature to design content for multiple target devices.
- AEM Mobile v2016.10: Check out all the new and updated features in Adobe’s latest release, along with info on several bug fixes.
- Don’t miss our infographic pick highlighting the rise of Uber, a simple mobile app that became a major industry disruptor.
Forbes photo: John Pendygraft-Pool/Getty Images
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
