Exclusive: Time will launch a new commerce site powered by Taboola
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Time plans to launch a new commerce website next quarter powered by content created by a team of editors and writers at Taboola, executives told Axios.
Why it matters: "It's it's a long-term investment," said Taboola CEO Adam Singolda, referencing the five-year agreement between Taboola and Time.
- The agreement is designed to be long-term so that both Taboola and Time can build trust among consumers and Time readers in commerce recommendations, he added.
- Time's new CEO, Jessica Sibley, told Axios that the two companies "are mutually committed to building this business together."
Details: Time's new commerce site, which has yet to be named, will focus on product and service categories that align with Time's existing editorial coverage, Sibley said.
- "At launch, we will lean into Time's established reputation for trusted information and guidance in the categories of personal finance (banking, insurance, mortgages, etc.) and e-commerce (home, tech/gadgets, fashion, travel, etc.)," she said.
- Leading the project will be leaders at Time across tech, digital, editorial and top management, Sibley added.
The big picture: Time will be Taboola's first publishing partner for a new business it's launching called Taboola Turnkey Commerce, which provides publishers with ready-to-use commerce recommendations content for them to sell affiliate advertising against.
- Singolda hopes to broker more publisher agreements like the one with Time, to build on its $800 million acquisition of the e-commerce platform Connexity.
- In recent months, he's pushed to ink bigger partnerships with publishers that are already native advertising clients. In November, Taboola signed a 30-year deal with Yahoo to become the tech giant's exclusive native advertising partner.
What to watch: Time has built six new business lines since the publication sold to Marc and Lynne Benioff in 2018.
- Last year, it acquired Brandcast, a company that licenses software for easy-to-build marketing websites, to build a new division called Time Sites.
- In late September it created a climate platform via an independent division called "CO2 by TIME."
- Sibley said the company's biggest revenue driver is TIME Studios, a film and television division, which now accounts for more than 25% of Time’s overall revenue.
