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When BuzzFeed Inc. chief executive Jonah Peretti announced the abrupt closure of BuzzFeed News last Thursday, he also ushered in a new chapter for its sister brand, HuffPost, which will now serve as the flagship news operation for the company.
The strategy draws on a number of efficiencies, including uniting news resources under one operation, but it doesn’t account for many of the other unresolved challenges facing the model of free, ad-supported digital media, according to media buyers and analysts.
The two properties differ in a number of key ways, including their brand recognition, traffic patterns and content mix. But their shared business model and ownership naturally limit the degree to which HuffPost can distinguish itself from its former portfolio partner.
“This is an attempt at a soft landing within a friendly publication, but ultimately HuffPost will have the same challenges BuzzFeed News did,” said Ana Milicevic, the principal and co-founder of advertising consultancy Sparrow Advisors.
Benefits of shared resources, audience loyalty and content mix
By reducing the scope of its news operation from two outfits to one, BuzzFeed Inc. could see a number of natural benefits, according to a media buyer who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive commercial relationships.
BuzzFeed Inc. will be able to consolidate its resources into one news publisher, which could help it catalyze growth more quickly. The two properties report on similar subject matter, making the merger of eligible staff and business operations less challenging.
HuffPost has…a big homepage that a generation of web users stuck to.
Ben Smith, the editor in chief of Semafor and former founder of BuzzFeed News
HuffPost also boasts a larger monthly readership and a greater share of direct audience. Between January and March of this year, it averaged 53 million visitors per month, while BuzzFeed News drew 23 million, according to data from SimilarWeb.
Likewise, direct traffic makes up 65% of the traffic to HuffPost, compared to less than 15% at BuzzFeed News.
This discrepancy, largely a product of the habit HuffPost has cultivated in readers over its 18-year history, could help buffer the publisher against the mercurial patterns of social traffic.