But the strategy didn’t turn out well. The sites
were not profitable and the company has
refocused on Spanish TV. Univision, based in
New York, put them up for sale last summer.
Several digital-media companies have recently
run into trouble. For example, BuzzFeed laid
off workers to help it become profitable, while
Mic sold itself to Bustle after firing most of its
employees. The online-ad business is dominated
by tech giants Google and Facebook. Amazon is
also encroaching on that space.
Great Hill said that it’s calling its new media
company “G/O Media.” The collection of sites also
includes the female-focused Jezebel, sports site
Deadspin and pop-culture site “A.V. Club.” James
Spanfeller, a digital-media veteran who is the
former Forbes.com CEO, will lead the company
and is also a “significant” investor in it.
Great Hill has previously invested in media
companies, including Ziff Davis, the publisher of
PCMag.com, which it sold in 2012.