Nov 16, 2017 - Economy

It's been a tough day for digital media startups

William B. Plowman, Invision for BuzzFeed / AP Images

Both BuzzFeed and Vice Media will miss their 2017 revenue projections, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper also reports that Ziff Davis has agreed to buy tech-focused Mashable for just $50 million, or around one-quarter of what Mashable was valued at by its venture capitalists in early 2016.

Bottom line: This could put pressure on valuations for digital media startups, particularly those with ad-supported revenue models.

BuzzFeed: WSJ reports that the company will come in between 15% and 20% short of its $350 million revenue projections, likely postponing its planned IPO past 2018. Here is how a company source spun the news to WSJ:

"One person close to BuzzFeed said the performance reflects a more general malaise this year in ad-supported media businesses and isn't particular to the company."

Vice: The company won't hit its $800 million revenue projection for 2017, although the exact shortfall is unclear. There also has been rampant speculation about Vice going public.

Mashable: Ziff Davis is paying just $50 million for Mashable, which has raised over $45 million in venture capital funding (including a $15 million Series C round last year at a $200 million post-money valuation). Its investors included Time Warner Investments.

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It's been a tough day for digital media startups

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