James Murdoch is buying a big chunk of Vox Media.
Vox Media will split into two entities, with Murdoch’s company acquiring New York magazine, the Vox Media Podcast Network, and Vox. They’ll be led by Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff.
The remaining brands — Eater, Popsugar, SB Nation, The Dodo, and The Verge — will become a separate company led by Vox Media exec Ryan Pauley.
With the transaction, the Murdoch family scion will acquire media properties with clear cultural relevance.
New York is a celebrated culture and politics magazine that Murdoch’s father — conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch — once owned. It also has influential sub-brands, including Vulture and Intelligencer. Acquired by Vox Media in 2019, its journalism regularly wins awards and has been adapted into TV shows and movies, though it’s faced some financial headwinds.
The Vox Media Podcast Network has been the company’s economic growth engine in recent years. It’s anchored by the prominent hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway of “Pivot,” and includes shows hosted by notables like Preet Bharara and Esther Perel.
The Vox properties will be part of Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, which has interests in other cultural heavyweights, such as the Tribeca Film Festival and Art Basel.
The deal follows a dramatic battle over the Murdoch Family Trust, which controls key media properties such as Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. The dispute ended last year with a settlement that saw James Murdoch (and two of his siblings) part with their stakes in exchange for about $1.1 billion in cash compensation each.
Here’s the memo from Bankoff to Vox Media staff:
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