Gizmodo Media Group was an

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" ...

media company and blog network formerly operated by Univision Communications (now TelevisaUnivision) in its

Fusion Media Group The Fusion Media Group (FMG; formerly Fusion Media Network) is a division of Univision Communications. The company was launched in April 2016 after Univision bought out Disney's stake in Fusion through the Fusion Media Network joint venture betwe ...

division. The company was created from assets acquired from Gawker Media during its bankruptcy in 2016. In April 2019, Gizmodo and The Onion were sold to

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...

Great Hill Partners, which combined them into a new company named G/O Media.

History

Univision acquisition (2016)

On June 10, 2016, Gawker Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the company was ordered to pay $115 million in compensatory damages and a further $25 million in punitive damages in '' Bollea v. Gawker''. On August 16, 2016, Univision Communications purchased Gawker for $135 million. The purchase did not include the flagship website Gawker. It included the websites Gizmodo, Jezebel, Deadspin, Kotaku, Jalopnik, and Lifehacker. Univision named the unit Gizmodo Media Group after one of its blogs, ''

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite '' io9'', ...

'', in an effort to distance itself from the Gawker name. On September 10, 2016, Univision removed six controversial posts from various Gawker Media sites, each with the note: "This story is no longer available as it is the subject of pending litigation against the prior owners of this site." On September 21, 2016, Raju Narisetti was named as CEO of Gizmodo Media Group.

Very Smart Brothas

On July 7, 2017, Gizmodo Media Group acquired the blog Very Smart Brothas.

Earther

In September 2017, Gizmodo Media Group launched its first new stand-alone site since acquisition from Gawker Media,

Earther Earther is an environmental news website owned by Univision Communications and was launched in September 2017. History Earther launched with the mission to chronicle three main topics: "The future of Earth," "The future of humans on Earth," an ...

, devoted to environmental news, with Managing Editor Maddie Stone.

Televisa

In December 2017, Gizmodo Media Group announced a partnership with Mexican media conglomerate

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

to launch Spanish-language editions of websites such as ''Gizmodo'', ''Deadspin'', ''Kotaku'', ''Jalopnik'' and ''Jezebel''.

Struggles and sale

On May 8, 2018, the GMG Special Projects Desk published an article that highlighted various issues plaguing

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and include ...

. On June 28, 2018, ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'' reported that over forty GMG staffers would be taking union-negotiated buyouts, thereby averting

layoff A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...

s. On July 10, 2018, Univision announced that it would "explore" the option of selling all of the Gizmodo Media Group and '' The Onion'' websites under its ownership.

Great Hill Partners acquisition (2019)

In April 2019, private equity firm Great Hill Partners agreed to purchase Gizmodo Media Group and ''The Onion'' from Univision. The sale was completed on April 8, 2019, with Gizmodo Media Group and ''The Onion'' being combined into a new company named G/O Media.

References

{{Univision Communications . 2019 mergers and acquisitions Blog networks Former Univision Communications subsidiaries Fusion Media Group Mass media companies based in New York City Mass media companies established in 2016 Private equity portfolio companies