Gawker Media
Gawker Media LLC (formerly Blogwire, Inc. and Gawker Media, Inc.) was an American online media company and blog network. It was founded by Nick Denton in October 2003 as Blogwire, and was based in New York City. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands,[1] as of 2012, Gawker Media was the parent company for seven different weblogs and many subsites under them: Gawker.com, Deadspin, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Jalopnik, and Jezebel. All Gawker articles are licensed on a Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial license.[2] In 2004, the company renamed from Blogwire, Inc. to Gawker Media, Inc., and to Gawker Media LLC shortly after.[3][4]
Formerly
- Blogwire, Inc. (2003–04)
- Gawker Media, Inc. (2004)
September 21, 2016
Filed for United States Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; acquired by Univision Communications; assets now owned by G/O Media
New York City, New York, U.S.
- Nick Denton (Founder)
- Elizabeth Spiers (Founder, Gawker.com)
- Gina Trapani (Founder, Lifehacker)
In 2016, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection[5] after damages of $140 million were awarded against the company as a result of the Hulk Hogan sex tape lawsuit.[6] On August 16, 2016, all of the Gawker Media brands, assets except for Gawker.com, were acquired at auction by Univision Communications for $135 million.[7] Two days later on August 18, the company announced that Gawker.com would cease operations the following week, while its other sites will continue to operate.[8]
On September 21, 2016, Univision moved all of the Gawker Media properties to their newly-created Gizmodo Media Group.[9][10]
Gizmodo was subsequently acquired by Great Hill Partners along with The Onion in 2019 under the G/O Media Inc. umbrella, reportedly for less than $50 million.[11][12][13]
Ownership, finances, and traffic[edit]
While Denton has generally not gone into detail over Gawker Media's finances, he made statements in 2005 that downplayed the profit potential of blogs[14] declaring that "[b]logs are likely to be better for readers than for capitalists. While I love the medium, I've always been skeptical about the value of blogs as businesses", on his personal site.[15]
In an article in the February 20, 2006 issue of New York Magazine, Jossip founder David Hauslaib estimated Gawker.com's annual advertising revenue to be at least $1 million, and possibly over $2 million a year.[16] Combined with low operating costs—mostly web hosting fees and writer salaries—Denton was believed to be turning a healthy profit by 2006.[17] In 2015, Gawker Media LLC released its audited revenue for the past five years.[18] In 2010, its revenue was $20 million and operating income of $2.6 million.[18] Gawker Media's revenues steadily increased through 2014 and its audited revenue for 2014 was $45 million with $6.5 million operating income.[18] Business Insider valued the company at $250 million based upon its 2014 revenue.[19] In early 2015, Denton stated that he planned to raise $15 million in debt from various banks so as not to dilute his equity stake in the company by accepting investments from venture capital firms.[19]
In June 2016, Gawker Media revealed its corporate finances in a motion for a stay of judgment pending appeal and accompanying affidavits filed in the Bollea v. Gawker case in Florida state court. In the filings, the company stated that it could not afford to pay the $140.1 million judgment or the $50 million appeal bond.[20] The company's balance sheet at the time reflected total assets of $33.8 million ($5.3 million cash, $11.9 million accounts receivable, $12.5 million fixed assets), total current liabilities of $27.7 million; and total long-term liabilities of $22.8 million.[20] A bond broker stated in an affidavit that the company's book value was $10 million.[20]
In June 2016, at the time of the company's filing for bankruptcy, Denton had a 29.52% stake in the Gawker Media Group, and his family had another stake through a trust.[20]