The New Norm for Digital Media Valuations

The consolidation of the digital media industry is well and truly underway, with Refinery29, New York Media and PopSugar each being swallowed up in the past few weeks. Those deals have highlighted how much valuations have come down from the highs of recent years—with implications for the companies that remain.

Potentially most affected is BuzzFeed, whose CEO Jonah Peretti had been most vocal about the need for consolidation but which so far has participated in none of the deals. BuzzFeed was the most highly valued of the digital media startups to emerge in the past decade, hitting a valuation of $1.7 billion in 2016. Now, though, BuzzFeed’s valuation may be closer to $1.2 billion, based on the valuations placed on the three companies acquired in recent deals.