NowThis Combines With Accelerate Change Portfolio to Become NowMedia

Social publisher NowThis Media, which was acquired by nonprofit media organization Accelerate Change last April, is combining with the eight other publishers in the Accelerate Change portfolio to become NowMedia, according to NowThis CEO Sharon Mussalli.

The network will reach over 190 million people monthly—including web traffic, social audience and newsletter subscribers—with the majority of its audience stemming from NowThis, according to the company. The publishers—which include titles such as PushBlack, Pulso and ParentsTogether—all cater to specific identity groups and emphasize social content.

By combining, NowMedia aims to centralize its business functions, expand its total reach and position itself as a partner for brands looking to reach minority audiences.

“NowThis brings a great reputation and the gravitas for brand relationships, but all of these brands are social first, focus on video and have deep, meaningful engagement with their audiences,” Mussalli said. “When you combine everything, you get a very powerful platform.”

The early decisions from NowThis to commit to a mission-driven, video-centric commercial model has let it outlast the bulk of its digital publishing peers, such as Vice Media and BuzzFeed, which have found their business models increasingly unsustainable in a media landscape upended by shifts in social traffic and data privacy.

The strategy from NowThis reflects both the increasing need for social publishers to consolidate to reach audiences of meaningful scale, as well as the demand from advertisers for video inventory, according to FTI Consulting senior managing director Justin Eisenband.

For NowThis, which was spun off from Vox Media, the roll-up lets it tap into new advertising categories without expanding its editorial costs. It has, however, begun building out its revenue team, and in the past six week, it hired media executives David Spiegel and Catherine Schuler as senior vice president of sales and head of brand and creative development, respectively.

NowMedia eyes mission-based advertising

Like other ad networks, NowMedia will employ a hub-and-spoke model, centralizing commercial resources while operating its editorial brands as distinct hubs.

The core commercial team aims to expand to a full-time headcount of around 20 by the end of the year, according to Mussalli. NowThis, for comparison, has an editorial staff of around 65.

The revenue team will pitch brands both individually and as a run-of-network, using the unique selling points of the specific titles—such as their minority ownership or the demographic of their audience—to start conversations with advertisers that can mature into broader deals.

NowMedia also includes two creator networks—Gen-Z for Change and Influence Change—that it can use for influencer campaigns.

The network will generate the bulk of its revenue through advertising, such as the integrated editorial series it created with American Express, and through its work with grant-funded organizations, which it helps craft and deliver messaging on key topics, such as climate change and reproductive health. 

The company wouldn’t share financial projections for its first year, although in 2023, NowThis generated an eight-figure revenue.

Vox Media, which still owns a minority stake in NowThis, will continue to sell its advertising inventory, although it will no longer have the exclusive rights to do so, according to Mussalli. 

“Traditional media used to survive on a combination of sales teams and rep firms, and I think the world is going back to that,” Mussalli said. “The more avenues to create relationships with brands, the better.”