After launching in 200 5, TMZ quickly grew into a major force
in entertainment news, breaking stories about celebrity mis-
behavior (Mel Gibson’s arrest for drunk driving) and celeb-
rity deaths (Michael Jackson’s) while lickerishly traicking in
celebrity bikini shots. A section of its website is devoted to
“celebrity butts.”
TMZ’s dominance of the gossip business has seemed uncer-
tain recently. Consumers can now get theirixes on Instagram
and Snapchat, which seems to have stalled the company’s
growth. According to tracking service ComScore, TMZ.com
attracted 2 9.1 million unique viewers per month in theirst
half of2018, down from 31.8 million two years earlier. Ratings
for TMZ’s lagship show,TMZ on TV, which airs on Fox aili-
ates, were down 34 percent for the irst ive months of this year
among 18- to 49-year-olds, compared with the same period in
2016, according to Nielsen. “Nobody comes close to TMZ in
the celebrity news world in terms of driving the narrative,”
says Jason Beckerman, TMZ’s head of legal afairs and business
development, who replied to questions on Levin’s behalf. The
company’s shows, he says, remain “extraordinarily proitable,”
though he declined to get into speciics.
TMZ’s dip comes at an awkward time. In June, AT&T Inc.
completed an $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc.,
which includes Warner Bros., which owns TMZ. Prior to the
deal’s completion, a person familiar with the discussions says,
Kevin Tsujihara, chief executive oicer of Warner Bros., put
a feeler out to at least one other media organization to gauge
its potential interest in buying TMZ. A spokesman for Warner
Bros. says TMZ isn’t for sale. AT&T declined to comment.
Time Warner has never disclosed inancial information
about TMZ, which encompasses three websites, four TV
shows, and a bus tour of Los Angeles. A former member ofBy Felix Gillette and
Gerry Smith
51August 20, 2018America’s gossip machine
pivots to politics
Oprah Winfrey
Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea