Media group Discovery Communications agreed yesterday to invest $100m in newly formed US-based digital-first media company Group Nine Media as part of a strategic partnership agreement.
Group Nine was formed by digital media companies Thrillist Media Group, NowThis Media, The Dodo and Seeker, the digital network owned by Discovery, and will act as an umbrella company for its founders, each of which will continue to operate with editorial independence.
Thrillist, a spinout of e-commerce company JackThreads, operates a millennial-male focused lifestyle media platform, while NowThis specialises in short form news and current affairs videos published across various online platforms.
The Dodo, which had been backed substantially by Discovery, runs an animal-related online media platform, while Seeker and its SourceFed Studios content production arm were acquired by Discovery from Philip DeFranco’s online video product portfolio in 2013.
Although the individual brands will publish separately, they plan to combine resources to form large-scale advertising solutions and long-form video production departments, as well as a dynamic publishing platform that will power all the brands.
Germany-headquartered media conglomerate Axel Springer will maintain a position as the second largest investor in Group Nine. It invested $54m in Thrillist and JackThreads in late 2015 and led a $16.2m series D round for NowThis shortly afterwards.
Discovery is providing the money as part of an agreement which will facilitate advertising being sold across multiple linear, digital, social and live event platforms. Discovery has also picked up an option to acquire a controlling stake in Group Nine in future.
The funding will support the growth of Group Nine’s branded content studio and sales team, as well as an expansion in content across all its brands and the launch of new verticals.
Ben Lerer, formerly CEO of Thrillist and now CEO of Group Nine Media, said: “Each of our brands has found great success independently, but with consolidation of digital content companies around the corner, there is extraordinary value in all existing under one multi-brand roof.
“We will be stronger brands working together – we will have more influence; we will have better data and insights; we will be better partners to our advertisers; and most importantly, we will be substantial enough to make a real difference and stay ahead of the market.”
Thrillist’s only disclosed funding came from Axel Springer, while NowThis had raised $32m from Axel Springer, media group NBCUniversal, telecommunications and internet company SoftBank, Oak Investment Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Bedrocket.
The Dodo had raised about $21m, with Discovery leading a $4.7m series A round in 2014 that included SoftBank subsidiary SoftBank Capital, Sterling Equities, Greycroft Partners and RRE Ventures, as well as an $11.5m round in November 2015.