Time Inc. announced its purchase of xoJane and xoVain from Say Media earlier this week. With an audience of 10 million readers per month, xoJane and xoVain target millennial women. The social-first sites offer a blend of editorial and user-generated content, including advice about sex, beauty, fashion, entertainment, wellness, how-tos and it-happened-to-me stories.
“We are excited to welcome Jane and the xo community to the Time Inc. family,” said Time Inc. EVP Evelyn Webster in the October 27 announcement. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to serve this modern, inclusive community of women, increasing our reach in this important segment and providing our advertising partners with more access to targeted, engaged audiences.”Editor-in-chief Jane Pratt founded xoJane in 2011 and xoVain in 2013, and had been looking for a buyer for several months, says AdWeek. Pratt will stay on as editor-in-chief.
“We’re thrilled to join Time Inc. and for this opportunity to bring new readers to xoJane and xoVain,” Pratt said. “We are looking forward to expanding our coverage of fashion, beauty and entertainment, while continuing to grow our audience and our engagement at an exciting pace.”This acquisition puts the Time Inc. Style Network at #5 in size in comScore’s beauty/fashion/style category, and it comes just a week after Time Inc. announced its acquisition of HelloGiggles which also targets millennial women.Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME) is one of the world’s largest media companies, reaching a global print audience of more than 120 million monthly visitors and a global digital audience of 140 million monthly visitors on more than 60 websites. Its titles include People, InStyle, Time, Simple, Travel + Leisure, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Food & Wine.Inside Take:This deal is the latest in a string of media company acquisitions this year. Last week we reported on Condé Nast’s acquisition of music magazine Pitchfork, and we expect similar deals to continue through 2016. Major media companies like Time Inc. and Condé Nast recognize that they need to secure the millennial audience.While they may have popular brands and loyal audiences, those audiences are aging, and millennials have significant buying power. In fact, according to AdAge, millennials will be the largest consumer generation in history. They’ll spend more than $200 billion a year starting in 2017, and as much as $10 trillion in their lifetimes.Time Inc. recognizes that xoJane and xoVain have the audience they want, and it was easier to buy it than to start from scratch. This gives Time Inc. a larger, younger audience which will appeal to its advertisers, and similar to the Condé Nast deal, xoJane and xoVain will also benefit. The sites will retain editorial control and can build on their strengths with the financial backing and brand recognition offered by Time Inc.~ Dana E. Neuts, Subscription Insider
