The Wall Street Journal is reporting that companies like BuzzFeed, Vice Media and Huffington Post are known as “new media” specialists. Now, they’re venturing aggressively into a decidedly old-media stronghold: television. WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.
Media giant NBCUniversal has an Achilles’s heel, according to its top executive. And it hopes it has come up with a cure for the ailment. CEO Steve Burke said the company took a look at four different outlets: BuzzFeed, Vox, Vice and Huffington Post. NBCU recently announced it would invest $200 million in each of the first two companies, in deals that will allow for content sharing, joint advertising pacts, and said Burke, education. “We like their businesses, but the real deal is we are going to get smarter” about reaching consumers with content through digital outlets.
The Huffington Post will launch a 24-hour online video channel, site founder Arianna Huffington told staff on Thursday. The channel will be available via its website, apps, OTT and VOD.
In 12 months, The Huffington Post hopes that 50% of the content on its site is video. To meet that mark the AOL-owned publisher is creating its own network of video creators as companies like Disney’s Maker Studios have done.
AOL In Talks To Spin Off Huffington Post
While negotiating its Verizon deal, AOL has also reportedly been in advanced discussions with a number of parties to spin off its flagship Huffington Post content unit. The talks have been most serious with Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate, but a number of private equity firms have also expressed interest in the high-profile property.
Exclusives
The new streaming network HuffPost Live will include programming from the site’s editors and bloggers and will boost engagement by allowing users to submit video of themselves speaking out on current issues.
AOL’s Huffington Post Media Group is preparing to launch a live over-the-internet video channel modeled on the 24-hour cable news networks. The project hasn’t been announced yet, but Huffington and AOL chairman Tim Armstrong have been dropping hints about it in their public remarks.
Just-ousted NBC Universal President-CEO Jeff Zucker yesterday praised AOL’s $315 million acquisition of The Huffington Post. He said NBC had tried for 18 months to buy the popular blog but “could never agree on price.”
The acquisition announced early today puts a high-profile exclamation mark on a series of acquisitions and strategic moves engineered by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong in an effort to reshape a fallen Internet icon.
