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The Independent, the British media group, is in talks to take control of the operations of BuzzFeed and HuffPost UK, as it seeks to build scale in a tougher climate for advertising revenues.
The Independent will assume all editorial and commercial control of US digital media group BuzzFeed in the UK under a licensing deal for its various brands — including HuffPost UK, Seasoned and Tasty — according to people familiar with the talks. Staff in the country will be transferred to its London offices.
The multiyear strategic partnership is a symbolic moment for the sector, with the almost 40-year-old British media group taking charge of the local operations of a start-up once seen as the future of the industry and known for its combination of easily shared listicles and candy-coloured emojis.
Shares in BuzzFeed rose more than 50 per cent on Thursday afternoon following news of the talks. The group will continue to provide global content, tech and strategic support to The Independent as part of the deal.
The partnership reflects the growing need for media groups to add scale to their commercial operations following Google’s decision to kill off third-party tracking cookies on Chrome this year, which has made it harder for companies to generate money through digital advertising.
People close to the discussions between The Independent and BuzzFeed said the combined audience for the latter’s various brands would offer advertisers and ecommerce groups the opportunity to reach a larger cohort of Gen Z and millennials.
The agreement will also help The Independent expand its commercial offerings, including through ecommerce, events, audio, content syndication and product licensing opportunities.
The Independent and BuzzFeed declined to comment.
Staff were expected to be told of the tie-up on Thursday afternoon. The financial terms were not immediately available. Content is also expected to be shared between the two businesses in the UK and US.
The partnership comes after many digital rivals have been forced to cut jobs in newsrooms in the UK and US, including Business Insider, Forbes and Pitchfork. Sites such as The Messenger, the US-based digital news start-up, have also been forced to close after making heavy losses.
BuzzFeed, which was founded by chief executive Jonah Peretti in 2006 and met near-instant popularity, has also suffered in recent years. After its launch, BuzzFeed expanded its news operations and branched out into hard-hitting investigations. But its financial model, largely dependent on the tech platforms for traffic and referrals, was hit as larger groups such as Meta shifted away from news provision.
BuzzFeed last year closed its news division and announced it was cutting its workforce by 15 per cent as part of an effort to slash costs. HuffPost, which was acquired by BuzzFeed in 2020, is now the group’s only digital news site.
Meanwhile The Independent is the largest all-digital news publisher in the US and UK. It posted record revenues last year, marking the sixth consecutive year of profitable growth since going digital only.
The business has focused on investing in international expansion, ecommerce and independent TV production, and tried to diversify its revenue away from advertising. It launched a dedicated US edition in 2020 as part of a global, round-the-clock news offering.
The shift comes as Google’s decision to kill off cookies has left media groups under pressure to boost their “first-party data” — provided by readers such as through preferences — to offer to advertisers.
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