In response, Vox Media has adopted an unbundled approach, opting to shop its house of brands as a series of standalone titles to sensible owners.
The most visible evidence of this decision was the announcement, made in January, that the company had split its sales operation into two independent organizations: one for its podcast network, one for its publishing business.
The move clearly telegraphed that the podcast business, called the Vox Media Podcast Network, was being decoupled from the broader Vox Media business. According to Puck, last year the VMPN generated $60 million in revenue and more than $20 million in profit, making it an appealing business with ample room for growth.
As such, the company has shopped the VMPN around, with interested buyers including Versant, as The New York Times reported, and Netflix, according to a person familiar with the efforts, but no deal has yet been struck.
Regardless, any effort to sell the podcast network will have to contend with a thicket of unwelcome logistics.
In many cases, for instance, Vox Media does not employ the talent behind the podcasts, acting instead as a sales representative for the shows. As a result, one source suggested, rather than buy the entire network outright, an interested party could presumably wait until the contract governing their desired show expired, then outbid Vox Media for it.
Similarly, several popular podcast franchises are attached to brands within the editorial portfolio, such as the show Decoder with Nilay Patel, who is also the editor in chief of The Verge. Separating podcasts from their editorial platforms makes sense in theory, although in practice could prove challenging.
Likewise, selling the publishing division of the Vox Media portfolio presents a separate set of challenges, as the individual brands vary in their commercial health and prospects.
At the top of the Vox Media hierarchy is SB Nation, a network of sports blogs that brings in between $50 million and $100 million in revenue, according to a person familiar with its finances. Its lean model—the editorial is largely produced by contractors—has kept it operating profitably despite upheaval in broader traffic patterns.
Second on the totem pole is New York Magazine, which has more than 400,000 paying subscribers and a wealth of cultural capital. The media brand generates more revenue than SB Nation, but its thin margins make it a less attractive asset, according to three sources. The magazine did more than $100 million in revenue last year but drew a profit of only around $6 million, per Puck.
The Verge and Eater generate the third and fourth-most revenue in the portfolio, trading places depending on the year, according to five people familiar with the brands.
The commercial health of The Verge is largely tied to the advertising budget of the technology industry, which in recent years has prioritized cost-cutting to free up cash to bankroll its investments in artificial intelligence.
Likewise, Eater produces significant top-line revenue but carries thin margins because its cities-based reporting model and video production are expensive to maintain, according to two of the people. It had a banner year in 2024, but pressure from tariffs led to a substantial decline in revenue according to a person familiar with the brand.