Trusted Media Brands, the parent of Reader’s Digest, has acquired Jonathan Skogmo’s Jukin Media, the L.A.-based streaming and social video company, the companies announced on Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Skogmo told TheWrap the pact was an “all cash deal” and described it as a 100% acquisition of Jukin Media.
Founded in 2009 by Skogmo, Jukin Media’s properties include FailArmy, People Are Awesome, The et Collective, and WeatherSpy. With the acquisition, Jukin’s 220 employees will join Trusted Media’s team with a plan to strengthen Trusted Media’s existing consumer coverage.
Skogmo said the companies complement each other because of Jukin’s strength in video and streaming as compared with Trusted Media Brands’ strength in editorial, commerce and direct-to-consumer relationship..”Both sides recognized in the other someone who could help the other grow and evolve and help boost the other, that’s what it’s really about, both sides seeing the tremendous fit in the other,” Skogmo told TheWrap.
Said Jukin Media co-CEO Lee Essner in a statement, “We are so excited to be combining these two great companies into one powerhouse. With this acquisition, Trusted Media Brands is getting not only a social and streaming-first powerhouse, but also a profitable, sustainable business with diverse revenue streams — one that has thrived and continued to grow despite having only raised $6 million in investor capital.”
“We have seen tremendous momentum across our web and social properties year over year with video viewership and revenue at an all-time high. In fact, video revenue outpaced video play growth due to strategic monetization efforts that are authentic to our brands,” said Vince Errico, president of digital for Trusted Media Brands. “Jukin Media’s capabilities will take the strengths to the next level and pave the way for our future vision of what it means to be a leader in today’s media landscape.”
Jukin Media is a leading global supplier of user-generated video content. In 2020 the company licensed more than 2,000 video clips for use in advertising campaigns and license clips on TV and digital properties in nearly 100 countries. In the statement Trusted Media Brands said it delivers content to an audience of nearly 60 million, or more than a quarter of U.S. adults nationwide.