By Dawn Chmielewski and Edmund Lee
May 20 (Reuters) – James Murdoch agreed to acquire New York Magazine and the Vox Media podcast network in a deal that will significantly expand his portfolio and stands to boost his influence over news and entertainment.
“This acquisition reflects both our interest in the forward edge of culture and our deep commitment to ambitious journalism,” Murdoch, the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, said in a statement announcing the transaction. His company Lupa Systems will buy both properties from Vox Media.
The deal, valued at more than $300 million, gives Murdoch control of a storied magazine known for its coverage of culture, politics and fashion, and a podcast division whose reach, among a demographic coveted by advertisers, rivals that of cable television news networks, according to several people with direct knowledge of the acquisition. The politics news site Vox.com is also included.
Murdoch and his wife Kathryn Murdoch were intimately involved in courting key talent from Vox, specifically Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, stars of the popular Pivot podcast as well as several other programs on the company’s podcast network.
“I like James and Kathryn,” Swisher said in a phone interview. “Unlike many other media owners these days, they’re savvy about the business and willing to take smart risks.”
Vox’s podcast division was valued much higher than New York Magazine in the transaction, two of the people said, spotlighting the importance of making sure top programs were locked in. Pivot, for example, has three years remaining on its contract, which will continue under Murdoch. Swisher met with the investor and his wife Kathryn several times before the deal came together.
“In a company like Vox, if its talent doesn’t like something, it’s not gonna happen,” Galloway said in an interview. He added: “James is the only Murdoch that this deal could have happened with.”
Several years ago, James was locked in a fierce dispute with his father over the editorial direction and future control of the family’s media empire. He resigned in 2020 from the board of News Corp, the publishing arm of the family’s media empire, citing “disagreements over certain editorial content.”
Vox’s podcast and publishing assets will operate as a subsidiary of Lupa Systems, which also owns Art Basel, which hosts annual events in Paris, Miami, Hong Kong, and Doha, and Tribeca Enterprises, the media and entertainment company co-founded by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal.
Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff will join Lupa Systems, and will continue to lead the brands under the Vox Media label, he said in a note to the company’s staff, adding the deal is expected to close in four to six weeks.
New York Magazine’s publications include The Cut, Vulture and Intelligencer, with a digital audience of tens of millions and more than 400,000 paying subscribers currently.
The acquisition does not include other Vox Media brands such as Eater, Popsugar and The Verge. These brands, along with SB Nation and The Dodo, will become an independent company under a new corporate name.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Leroy Leo and Nick Zieminski)
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