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Social publisher NowThis Media, which was acquired by nonprofit media organization Accelerate Change last April, is combining with the eight other publishers in the Accelerate Change portfolio to become NowMedia, according to NowThis CEO Sharon Mussalli.
The network will reach over 190 million people monthly—including web traffic, social audience and newsletter subscribers—with the majority of its audience stemming from NowThis, according to the company. The publishers—which include titles such as PushBlack, Pulso and ParentsTogether—all cater to specific identity groups and emphasize social content.
By combining, NowMedia aims to centralize its business functions, expand its total reach and position itself as a partner for brands looking to reach minority audiences.
“NowThis brings a great reputation and the gravitas for brand relationships, but all of these brands are social first, focus on video and have deep, meaningful engagement with their audiences,” Mussalli said. “When you combine everything, you get a very powerful platform.”
The early decisions from NowThis to commit to a mission-driven, video-centric commercial model has let it outlast the bulk of its digital publishing peers, such as Vice Media and BuzzFeed, which have found their business models increasingly unsustainable in a media landscape upended by shifts in social traffic and data privacy.
The strategy from NowThis reflects both the increasing need for social publishers to consolidate to reach audiences of meaningful scale, as well as the demand from advertisers for video inventory, according to FTI Consulting senior managing director Justin Eisenband.
For NowThis, which was spun off from Vox Media, the roll-up lets it tap into new advertising categories without expanding its editorial costs. It has, however, begun building out its revenue team, and in the past six week, it hired media executives David Spiegel and Catherine Schuler as senior vice president of sales and head of brand and creative development, respectively.
NowMedia eyes mission-based advertising
Like other ad networks, NowMedia will employ a hub-and-spoke model, centralizing commercial resources while operating its editorial brands as distinct hubs.
The core commercial team aims to expand to a full-time headcount of around 20 by the end of the year, according to Mussalli. NowThis, for comparison, has an editorial staff of around 65.
