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Penske Media Corporation (PMC) () is an American
digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...
,
publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film ...
'', ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its c ...
'', '' WWD'', ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wi ...
'', '' Billboard'', '' Boy Genius Report'',
Robb Report The ''Robb Report'' is an American, English-language, luxury-lifestyle magazine featuring products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate and watches. Founded in 1976, it is currently owned by Penske Media Corporation. It also dis ...
, '' Artforum'', ''ARTNews'', and others. PMC's Chairman and CEO since founding is
Jay Penske Jay Penske is an American media and publishing entrepreneur and auto racing team owner. He is the Chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation, a digital media and publishing company he founded in 2004. Early life and education Born in New York ...
.


History


Founding and early years of Penske Media

Penske Media Corporation was founded by Jay Penske in 2003. It began as an affinity marketing and internet services company called Velocity Services, Inc. The company acquired the Mail.com domain and was renamed to the Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC). By 2008, the company owned digital entertainment properties like OnCars.com, Hollywoodlife.com, '' Movieline'', and MailTimes in addition to operating the Mail.com portal and email service. In mid-2008, the company received a $35 million growth equity round of financing from a leading private equity fund. In early 2009, the company announced the purchase of ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' (now known as Deadline.com). The website had previously been operated by publisher, '' LA Weekly''. In February 2010, MMC finalized and announced a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to access ...
with Zee TV, one of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's leading TV networks, on the creation of the new India.com web portal and seven other portals. The site was designed to compete with other portals like Indiatimes.com,
Yahoo Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Ma ...
, and Rediff.com. In April 2010, MMC purchased Jonathan Geller's Boy Genius Report (BGR), a tech and gadget blog, for an undisclosed amount of money. MMC moved the blog to a new URL (BGR.com) and also introduced a broader spectrum of technology coverage. Geller remained the website's
Editor in Chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
after the sale. In September 2010, the Mail.com Media Corporation announced a transaction in which they would sell the Mail.com email and portal service to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
-based, United Internet Group, one of the country's leading internet companies. MMC would remain the primary content provider for Mail.com, but the email service itself was operated by United Internet and its GMX email platform.


''Variety'', Fairchild, and other acquisitions

Sometime in 2012, MMC re-branded itself to its current branding. In October 2012, PMC purchased Variety Inc. including the weekly ''Variety'' magazine, ''Daily Variety'', Variety.com, and all associated assets for a reported $25 million from
Reed Elsevier RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...
. PMC received financial backing from the
hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as shor ...
, Third Point LLC. Some of PMC's early changes to Variety's business plan included eliminating the website's
paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of ...
, ceasing the printing of ''Daily Variety'', and investing more in the digital platform, Variety.com. The paywall was taken down on March 1, 2013, and, after being published for 80 years, the last print edition of ''Daily Variety'' was issued on March 19, 2013, and a redesigned ''Variety'' magazine launched on March 26, 2013. In late 2014, PMC purchased Fairchild Fashion Media from
Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's med ...
for just under $100 million. Under the terms of the deal, PMC obtained ownership of Fairchild's print and digital media properties including WWD (''Women's Wear Daily''), '' Footwear News'', ''Beauty Inc.'', and others. Condé Nast had previously in 2003 purchased the assets from Disney Corporation for over $650 million. Two of Fairchild's properties, Style.com and ''W'', remained under Condé Nast's ownership. In June 2015, Penske Media Corporation formed a partnership with Shutterstock Inc. to compete with Getty Images in the categories of editorial images in the entertainment and fashion industries. Beginning in 2016, Shutterstock had an exclusive right and license to PMC's fashion and entertainment archives. The following month, PMC purchased Gold Derby, a data platform and website that utilizes user and professional predictions to predict the outcome and winners of global awards shows and events. In January 2016, PMC acquired independent film and television platform, Indiewire from SnagFilms, Inc. for an undisclosed amount of money. Michael Schneider the Editor-in-Chief of ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...
'' joined Indiewire.com as Executive Editor shortly after the PMC acquisition, joining editorial leaders Anne Thompson, Eric Kohn, and editor Dana Harris.


2017–present; ''Robb Report'', ''Rolling Stone'', and MRC venture

In January 2017, Penske Media Corporation entered into a joint venture for the ''
Robb Report The ''Robb Report'' is an American, English-language, luxury-lifestyle magazine featuring products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate and watches. Founded in 1976, it is currently owned by Penske Media Corporation. It also dis ...
'' with Rockbridge, the private equity firm of
Dan Gilbert Daniel Gilbert (born January 17, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and majority owner of Rocket Mortgage, founder of Rock Ventures, and owner of the National Basketball Associatio ...
. In December 2017, Penske Media acquired a majority stake of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its c ...
'' magazine from Wenner Media. In 2018, it expanded further into music with an investment in BuzzAngle Music. Additional acquisitions from 2017 to 2018 include
SHE Media SHE Media (formerly known as SheKnows Media) is an American digital media company. It operates the website properties BlogHer, SheKnows.com, STYLECASTER, and HelloFlo. It has been a brand of Penske Media Corporation since 2018. History SHE Medi ...
, Sourcing Journal, and Art Media Holdings which includes '' Art in America'' and '' ARTnews''. On September 23, 2020, it was announced that PMC would assume operations of the MRC Media & Info publications, including ''Variety'''s main competitor, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'', and '' Billboard'' magazine, under a joint venture with MRC known as . In turn, MRC will form a second joint venture that will develop content tied to PMRC publications. In February 2022, the company acquired a majority stake in
Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival is an annual music, culinary, art, and learning festival held in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It debuted in 2013 as a three-day event. In 2019, it was one of the world's highest grossing festi ...
, which will be run under ''Rolling Stone''. In December 2022, PMC acquired the contemporary art magazine '' Artforum'' and '' Bookforum''. It was announced on December 12th that PMC would dissolve ''Bookforum''.


Properties


''Variety''

PMC owns and operates ''Variety'' magazine, a trade paper for the entertainment industry founded in 1905, as well as its various digital and data platforms. PMC purchased the publication in 2012 from Reed Elsevier for approximately $30 million.


''Rolling Stone''

PMC first became the majority owner of ''Rolling Stone'' by purchasing a 51 percent stake in the company from Wenner Media in 2017, and then acquired the 49 percent stake held by BandLab Technologies in January 2019 to become its full owner. ''Rolling Stone'' is an international media brand which focuses on popular culture, now including magazines published in 15 countries such as China, Australia, India and the United Kingdom. The original American ''Rolling Stone'' magazine was founded in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
in 1967 by magazine publisher
Jann Wenner Jann Simon Wenner ( ; born January 7, 1946) is an American magazine magnate who is a co-founder of the popular culture magazine '' Rolling Stone'', and former owner of '' Men's Journal'' magazine. He participated in the Free Speech Movement while ...
and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its musical coverage and for political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine shifted focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors and popular AT40-based music. Under PMC, ''Rolling Stone'' became a monthly publication in America, but still mixed music coverage with politics and articles on popular culture.


''Robb Report''

The ''
Robb Report The ''Robb Report'' is an American, English-language, luxury-lifestyle magazine featuring products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate and watches. Founded in 1976, it is currently owned by Penske Media Corporation. It also dis ...
'' is an American English-language luxury- lifestyle magazine featuring various products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate, and watches.


''Deadline Hollywood''

'' Deadline'', also known as ''Deadline Hollywood'' or ''Deadline.com'' and previously known as news
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
''Deadline Hollywood Daily'', is an online magazine founded by
Nikki Finke Nikki Jean Finke (December 16, 1953 – October 9, 2022) was an American blogger, journalist, publisher, and writer. She was a consultant to Penske Business Media LLC and senior editorial contributor for PBM run by media owner Jay Penske. She ...
in 2006. The blog had initially been operated by publisher '' LA Weekly'' prior to being purchased by Penske Media in June 2009.


Fairchild Fashion Media

Fairchild Fashion Media is a digital media, publishing, and events company that owns multiple fashion-related content properties. PMC purchased Fairchild properties from Condé Nast in late 2014. These publications included WWD (''Women's Wear Daily''), '' Footwear News'', ''Beauty Inc.'', ''M'', and Fairchild Summits. WWD is often considered the "Bible of the fashion industry." The other properties are considered leading
business-to-business Business-to-business (B2B or, in some countries, BtoB) is a situation where one business makes a commercial transaction with another. This typically occurs when: * A business is sourcing materials for their production process for output (e.g., a ...
publications offering news and insights into various fashion and beauty niches.


HollywoodLife.com

Hollywoodlife.com is an entertainment, celebrity, and fashion news website founded and run by former ''
US Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media In ...
'', ''
Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...
'', and '' Glamour'' editor,
Bonnie Fuller Bonnie Fuller (born Bonnie Hurowitz; September 8, 1956) is a Canadian media executive who is the owner and editor-in-chief of Hollywood Life. Fuller previously worked as editor-in-chief for publications such as '' YM'', ''Cosmopolitan'', '' Glamo ...
. The site targets women ages 18 to 35 and attracts an audience of 35 million visitors per month.


Sportico

On April 2, 2020, PMC announced that it would launch Sportico—a new vertical focusing on the sports industry. It launched on June 30, 2020, hiring several reporters who previously worked at the sports division of
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Tele ...
.


Bollywood Life

BollywoodLife.com is an entertainment and celebrity news website reporting on Indian popular culture. It is part of Penske Media Corporation, having reportedly attained more than 20 million monthly active users, as well as over 5 million social media followers.


Other properties

Other properties under the PMC banner include the Boy Genius Report (or BGR.com), TVLine,
SHE Media SHE Media (formerly known as SheKnows Media) is an American digital media company. It operates the website properties BlogHer, SheKnows.com, STYLECASTER, and HelloFlo. It has been a brand of Penske Media Corporation since 2018. History SHE Medi ...
, and Sourcing Journal. BGR.com is a tech and gadget blog originally founded by Jonathan Geller and purchased by PMC in 2010. The Gold Derby Awards (or "Gold Derby TV and Film Awards") are awards given by the website Goldderby.com for television and film. The awards began in 2004. Owned by
Jay Penske Jay Penske is an American media and publishing entrepreneur and auto racing team owner. He is the Chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation, a digital media and publishing company he founded in 2004. Early life and education Born in New York ...
since 2015, it is a brand of the Penske Media Corporation. It has also been an investor in the strategic event management company LDJ Productions since 2020.


References


External links

* {{Penske Media Corporation Magazine publishing companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles American companies established in 2004 Privately held companies based in California