Group Nine Media

What Group Nine Media does

Group Nine Media operates a top-10 US digital media portfolio under the Vox Media banner, comprising more than fifteen editorial brands including Vox, New York Magazine, The Verge, SB Nation, The Cut, Eater, Vulture, The Dodo, The Strategist, Intelligencer, Thrillist, Popsugar, Curbed, Grub Street, and Punch. As of September 2025 the portfolio reached 102 million monthly users, generated over 1 billion monthly video views, accumulated 325 million social media followers, and delivered 59 million monthly podcast downloads, with editorial recognition including the Pulitzer Prize, National Magazine Awards, and Emmy Awards. Distribution spans owned digital platforms, social media, streaming services, the Vox Media Podcast Network (a top-10 US podcast network), live events, and the Concert programmatic marketplace. The company has disclosed approximately $190 million in funding across rounds led primarily by Warner Bros Discovery with Axel Springer, Lerer Hippeau, Greycroft, RRE Ventures, and IVP, and has executed strategic acquisitions including Jash (2017) and POPSUGAR (2019).

The core technology stack centers on Forte, a proprietary cookie-less AI platform that processes text, video, audio, and structured-data signals to connect cultural context with consumer action across owned properties, and on Concert, a publisher-led advertising marketplace using first-party data for audience targeting that has expanded beyond display into social and video inventory. Complementary operational units include Vox Creative (in-house branded content studio), Vox Media Studios (video production), and the Vox Media Podcast Network (anchored by shows such as Pivot, Criminal, Today Explained, Decoder with Nilay Patel, and The Vergecast). Revenue is generated through four streams: advertising (display, video, social, podcast via direct sales and Concert programmatic), subscriptions and content, events (edit-led tentpoles and custom brand activations), and content licensing. Pricing is uniformly quote-based across properties, placements, and campaign types and is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Group Nine Media

Legal name

Vox Media, LLC

Website

https://groupninemedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Group Nine Media operates Vox Media, a top-10 US digital media company managing premium editorial brands (Vox, New York Magazine, The Verge, SB Nation) reaching 102 million monthly users, monetized through advertising, events, and licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Media Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Media Buying Agencies (541830), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership) (MPAJAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Science, Technology & Gaming Magazines (MPAJAEAL)

Keywords

• Digital media publishing
• Editorial brand portfolio
• Programmatic advertising marketplace
• Podcast advertising network
• Branded content studio

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Primary revenue stream from brand advertisers purchasing across multiple advertising solutions including display, video, social, and podcast advertising. Revenue generated through Concert programmatic marketplace, direct sales, and custom branded content partnerships.
2. Subscription/Content Revenue: Revenue from premium content subscriptions and paid editorial products. Some brands offer subscription tiers for exclusive content access.
3. Events Revenue: Revenue generated from live events, edit-led tentpoles, and client custom events with specialized activation opportunities.
4. Licensing and Permissions: Revenue from content licensing, brand licensing, and permissions for use of editorial content and brand assets.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Group Nine Media is a digital-first media company that operates a portfolio of premium editorial brands spanning news, technology, sports, fashion, food, entertainment, and lifestyle, attracting over 100 million monthly users and more than 1 billion monthly video views. The company monetizes this audience through display, video, social, and podcast advertising sold via direct sales and the Concert programmatic marketplace, supplemented by custom branded content from its in-house Vox Creative studio, live event sponsorships, premium podcast advertising, and content licensing.

Product overview

Vox Media operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on a portfolio of premium editorial brands spanning technology, food, fashion, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle. The core offering is a collection of authoritative editorial properties including Vox, New York Magazine, The Verge, SB Nation, The Cut, Eater, Vulture, The Dodo, The Strategist, Intelligencer, Thrillist, Popsugar, Curbed, Grub Street, and Punch, which collectively attract over 102 million monthly users, 325 million social media followers, and generate over 1 billion monthly video views. Complementing the editorial brands are Vox Media Studios (video production), the Vox Media Podcast Network (award-winning podcasts with 59 million monthly downloads), Concert (a data-powered advertising marketplace), Vox Creative (in-house branded content studio), and Forte (a proprietary cookie-less AI platform for audience intelligence and predictive advertising). The portfolio generates revenue through advertising solutions including display, social, video, podcast, and events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vox Media Studios: Production studio creating video content across the company's media properties.
• Vox Media Podcast Network
• Concert
• Vox Creative
• Forte

Quantifiable outcome

• 102 million monthly users
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BuzzFeed, Inc. Digital media company operating a portfolio of news, entertainment, and lifestyle brands with heavy advertising and social-video distribution dependence. Directly comparable in business model (advertising-led, programmatic, multi-brand) and audience strategy.
• Vice Media: Premium digital media company targeting millennial/Gen Z audiences with editorial brands, video production, and branded content. Closely comparable as a multi-brand publisher monetized through advertising, branded content studios, and licensing — overlapping directly with Vox Media's portfolio approach.
• Dotdash Meredith: Operating subsidiary of IAC that publishes a portfolio of enthusiast and lifestyle editorial brands (Investopedia, The Spruce, People, Better Homes & Gardens, etc.) monetized primarily through advertising and commerce. Directly comparable in multi-brand digital publishing model.
• Insider Inc. (Business Insider): Digital-first business and lifestyle news publisher monetized through advertising, subscriptions, and events. Comparable in scale of audience reach, brand-advertising reliance, and use of premium editorial positioning for ad CPMs.
• The Dodo (under Group Nine/Vox Media): Animal-focused digital video brand within Vox Media's portfolio, one of the largest social-video publishers in its vertical. Comparable as a digital-first vertical publisher monetized through social video advertising, often cited alongside Vox Media for audience scale.

Broad incumbents

• Condé Nast: Established global multi-brand magazine publisher (Vogue, The New Yorker, Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair). Comparable as a prestige editorial publisher with advertising and licensing revenue, though much larger and more diversified across print and international markets than Vox Media.
• Hearst Communications: Large diversified media conglomerate operating newspapers, magazines (Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Elle), TV stations, and digital properties. Comparable in multi-brand editorial portfolio and advertising-revenue model, but at substantially larger scale and with broadcast and print assets Vox Media does not operate.
• Penske Media Corporation: Private media company publishing prestige titles including Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and WWD. Comparable in premium editorial portfolio and advertising-driven model, particularly in entertainment verticals that overlap with Vulture and The Verge.
• The New York Times Company: Publicly-traded publisher of The New York Times and other titles (Wirecutter, The Athletic). Comparable as a premium digital publisher competing for the same brand-advertising dollars and subscriber attention; differs via much larger subscription business and public-market discipline.

Regional players

• iHeartMedia: Leading US radio broadcaster and podcast publisher, owner of the iHeartPodcast Network. Directly comparable to Vox Media Podcast Network as a US podcast advertising competitor and partner, with significant overlap in award-winning podcast inventory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/groupninemedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vox-media-llc
• Instagraminstagram.com/voxmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/1098245900320585

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Group Nine Media