 | |
| Formerly | Velocity Services (2003–2007) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry |
|
| Predecessor | Mail.com Media Corporation (2007–2012) |
| Founded | 2003; 22 years ago (2003) |
| Founder | Jay Penske |
| Headquarters | 11175Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Key people | Jay Penske (CEO) |
| Owner | Jay Penske (60%) |
| Divisions | Penske Business Media PMC Studios |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | pmc |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3] | |
Penske Media Corporation (PMC/ˈpɛnski/) is an Americanmass media,publishing, and information services company based inLos Angeles andNew York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, includingVariety,Rolling Stone,Women's Wear Daily,Deadline Hollywood,Billboard,The Hollywood Reporter,Robb Report,Artforum,ARTNews, and others. PMC's Chairman and CEO since founding isJay Penske.
In addition to media publications, Penske Media Corporation owns theLife Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival and is a 50 percent stakeholder inSouth by Southwest. It is also the owner ofDick Clark Productions which includes the award showsGolden Globe Awards,American Music Awards,Streamy Awards,Academy of Country Music Awards, and theBillboard Music Awards.
Penske Media Corporation was founded by Jay Penske in 2003.[4][5] It began as anaffinity marketing and internet services company called Velocity Services, Inc.[4] The company acquired theMail.com domain and was renamed to the Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC).[6] By 2008, the company owned digital entertainment properties like OnCars.com,Hollywood Life,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 leadingprivate equity fund.[7]
In early 2009, the company announced the purchase ofDeadline Hollywood Daily (now known as Deadline.com). The website had previously been operated by publisherLA Weekly.[8][9][10][11]
In February 2010, MMC finalized and announced ajoint venture withZee TV for the creation of the new India.com web portal and seven other portals, to compete with other major web portals.[12]
In April 2010, MMC purchased Jonathan Geller'sBoy 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'sEditor in Chief after the sale.[13]
In September 2010, the Mail.com email and portal service was sold toUnited Internet. MMC remained the primary content provider for Mail.com, but the email service itself was operated by United Internet and its GMX email platform.[14][15]
In 2012, MMC re-branded itself as Penske Media Corporation. In October 2012, PMC purchased Variety Inc., including the weeklyVariety magazine,Daily Variety, Variety.com, and all associated assets, for a reported $25 million fromReed Elsevier.[16] PMC received financial backing fromhedge fundThird Point LLC. Some of PMC's early changes to Variety's business plan included eliminating the website'spaywall, ceasing the printing ofDaily Variety, and investing more in the digital platform, Variety.com.[17] The paywall was taken down on March 1, 2013, and, after 80 years of publication, the last print edition ofDaily Variety was issued on March 19, 2013. A redesignedVariety magazine launched on March 26, 2013.[18]
In late 2014, PMC purchasedFairchild Fashion Media fromCondé Nast for just under $100 million. Under the terms of the deal, PMC obtained ownership of Fairchild's print and digital media properties includingWomen's Wear Daily (WWD),Footwear News,Beauty Inc., and others.[19] Condé Nast had purchased the assets from Disney Corporation in 2003 for over $650 million. Two of Fairchild's properties,Style.com andW, remained under Condé Nast's ownership.[20]
In June 2015, Penske Media Corporation formed a partnership withShutterstock to be the exclusive licensor of imagery from PMC's fashion and entertainment archives.[21] 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.[22] In January 2016, PMC acquired independent film and television publicationIndieWire from SnagFilms, Inc. for an undisclosed amount of money.[23]
In January 2017, Penske Media Corporation entered into a joint venture for theRobb Report with Rockbridge, the private equity firm ofDan Gilbert.[24] In December 2017, Penske Media acquired a majority stake ofRolling Stone magazine from Wenner Media.[25] In 2018, it expanded further into music with an investment inBuzzAngle Music.[26] Additional acquisitions from 2017 to 2018 includeSHE Media, Sourcing Journal,[27][28] and Art Media Holdings, which includesArt in America andARTnews.[29]
On September 23, 2020, it was announced that PMC would assume operations of theMRC Media & Info publications, includingVariety's main competitor,The Hollywood Reporter, andBillboard magazine, under a joint venture with MRC known asPMRC. In turn, MRC will form a second joint venture that will develop content tied to PMRC publications.[30] In 2021, it purchased a 50 percent stake inSouth by Southwest,[31] and soldHollywood Life,[32] website about entertainment, celebrity, and fashion news targets women ages 18 to 35 and attracts an audience of 35 million visitors per month, founded and run by formerUS Weekly,Marie Claire, andGlamour editor,Bonnie Fuller.[33][34]
In 2022, the company acquired a majority stake in Las Vegas'Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival, which was placed under theRolling Stone division.[35] The same year, it acquired the contemporary art magazineArtforum andBookforum.Bookforum subsequently ceased publications on December 12 of that year.[36][37] It also launched the LA3C, a music festival in Los Angeles, California.[38]
In January 2023, a stake inDick Clark Productions was sold to PMC via the joint venture Penske Media Eldridge.[39][40] In February 2023, PMC became the largest shareholder inVox Media, acquiring a 20% stake in the company with Jay Penske joining Vox Media's board.[41]
In August 2025, PMC soldBoy Genius Report andTVLine toStatic Media.[42][43]
PMC owns and operatesVariety 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.[16]
PMC first became the majority owner ofRolling Stone by purchasing a 51 percent stake in the company fromWenner Media in 2017,[25] and then acquired the 49 percent stake held byBandLab Technologies in January 2019 to become its full owner.[44]Rolling Stone is an international[45][46] media brand which focuses on popular culture, now including magazines published in 15 countries[47] such as China, Australia, India and the United Kingdom. The original AmericanRolling Stone magazine was founded inSan Francisco in 1967 by magazine publisherJann Wenner and the music criticRalph J. Gleason. It was first known for its musical coverage and for political reporting byHunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine shifted focus to a younger readership interested in youth-orientedtelevision shows, film actors and popularAT40-based music. Under PMC,Rolling Stone became a monthly publication in America, but still mixed music coverage with politics and articles on popular culture.[48]
TheRobb Report is an American English-languageluxury-lifestyle magazine featuring various products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate, and watches.
Deadline, also known asDeadline Hollywood orDeadline.com and previously known as newsblogDeadline Hollywood Daily, is anonline magazine founded byNikki Finke in 2006. The blog had initially been operated by publisherLA Weekly prior to being purchased by Penske Media in June 2009.
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."[49] The other properties are considered leadingbusiness-to-business publications offering news and insights into various fashion and beauty niches.[49]
On April 2, 2020, PMC announced that it would launchSportico—a newvertical focusing onsports business andmedia.[50] It launched on June 30, 2020,[51] hiring several reporters who previously worked at the sports business division ofBloomberg News.[52] On December 14, 2020,Sportico acquiredThe Intercollegiate, adding two writers from the college sports media outlet, to grow its coverage of the college sports industry.[53]
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.[54][55][56]
Gold Derby was founded in 2000 as an entertainment news forum, and was acquired by PMC in 2015 after the site pivoted to awards predictions.[57][58] It has awarded theGold Derby TV and Film Awards since 2002.[59]
Other properties under the PMC banner include the Boy Genius Report (or BGR.com), TVLine,SHE Media, and Sourcing Journal. BGR.com is a tech and gadget blog originally founded by Jonathan Geller and purchased by PMC in 2010.[13] PMC has also been an investor in the strategic event management company LDJ Productions since 2020.[60]
Penske Media co-owns its headquarters at 475 Fifth Avenue after partnering withRFR Holding to purchase it in 2022.[61]
| Key people |
| |
|---|---|---|
| Subsidiaries | ||
| PMRC properties | ||
| Former brands | ||
| Award shows | ||
| Related |
| |