Time Inc., the New York-based publishing company with over 90 magazines in its stable, has announced the acquisition of a lifestyle, pop culture and beauty website called Hello Giggles. Though the terms of the deal weren’t publicly disclosed, the WSJ reports that one source puts the deal in the $20 million range.
Hello Giggles was launched in May 2011 and was founded by none other than Zooey Deschanel, actress/musician and generally wide-eyed entertainment personality. Producer Sophia Rossi and writer Molly McAleer also founded the company alongside Deschanel.
With a focus on female readers, Hello Giggles content focuses on pop culture, love, friendship, style, food, careers, with a snark-free yet intelligent point of view. Hello Giggles also publishes reader contributions, unlike many sites in this genre.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Hello Giggles will continue operations out of their Los Angeles headquarters but will be folded into Time Inc.’s People and Entertainment Weekly group.
Of all of Time Inc.’s properties, including Sports Illustrated and namesake Time Magazine, People is the company’s biggest revenue generator, bringing in 18 percent of total company revenue in 2014.
Time Inc. has made a series of digital acquisitions in the last year, including a quartet of sports-focused purchases. League Athletics, SportsSignup, iSport, and inVNT were all picked up in the last year, and through the acquisitions, combined to form a new company called Sports Illustrated Play.
Given the decline in value for print media, both in content and ads, it makes sense to see Time Inc. make more digital investments. Expect to see more of this.
