The Daily Beast

What The Daily Beast does

The Daily Beast is a privately held digital news publication founded in 2008 and operated by The Daily Beast Company LLC, headquartered at 555 W. 18th Street, New York. It operates a direct-to-consumer digital media model covering politics, media, pop culture, world news, royals, and entertainment, with 251-500 employees. The product portfolio spans a flagship website, iOS and Android mobile apps, four podcasts (Inside Trump's Head, The Daily Beast Podcast, Obsessed, The Royalist), six-plus email newsletters (Beast Digest, Cheat Sheet, Politics, Obsessed, Scouted, Breaking Alerts), the Scouted e-commerce content vertical, The Looker beauty/wellness platform launched in November 2025, daily crosswords, and the Cheat Sheet aggregator.

The underlying technology is a web-based content management system delivering through owned digital surfaces and syndication via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, and email; no APIs, SDKs, or proprietary AI/ML components are disclosed. Distribution is multi-channel: email newsletters, organic social (Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), podcasts/video, SEO, and direct website traffic.

The business model blends recurring digital subscriptions (monthly at $5.99 with a $1 first-month offer, annual at $59.99 with a $35 first-year offer) with display/sponsored advertising. Podcast ad sales and distribution are managed through a strategic partnership with Daylight Media announced February 2026. Affiliate commerce revenue runs through the Scouted vertical. Per COO Keith Bonnici, the company was profitable through the first nine months of 2025 and projected its first full year of profitability in 2025; absolute revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

The Daily Beast

Legal name

The Daily Beast Company LLC

Website

https://thedailybeast.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Daily Beast is a privately held, direct-to-consumer digital news publication founded in 2008, covering politics, pop culture, royals, and entertainment across web, mobile, podcasts, and newsletters through a recurring subscription plus advertising model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online News & Digital Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsletter & Email Digest Aggregators (MPACAKAG)

Keywords

• Digital news media
• Online journalism
• Political news coverage
• Entertainment news
• Digital subscriptions

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Monthly and annual digital subscription tiers providing unlimited access to content, ad-free newsletters, and exclusive subscriber editions.
2. Advertising: Display advertising and sponsored content on the website and newsletters. Ad sales managed through Daylight Media partnership for podcast portfolio.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Daily Beast is a digital news publication that delivers original reporting, investigations, and commentary across politics, media, entertainment, and culture. Its core offering is a flagship website combined with four flagship podcasts, multiple email newsletters, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and specialized verticals such as Scouted (shopping) and The Looker (beauty and wellness). The business is monetized through digital subscriptions, advertising, and affiliate partnerships.

Product overview

The Daily Beast is a digital news publication offering a portfolio of content products across multiple platforms: its core news website covering politics, media, entertainment, and culture; four flagship podcasts (Inside Trump's Head, The Daily Beast Podcast, Obsessed, and The Royalist); multiple email newsletters (Beast Digest, Cheat Sheet, Politics, Obsessed, Scouted, Breaking & Exclusive Alerts); The Looker beauty and wellness sub-brand; a crossword puzzle feature; and the Scouted shopping content section. The company operates primarily as an ad-supported subscription model with both free and premium content tiers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Looker: Editorial platform focused on beauty, wellness, and personal transformation launched in November 2025
• Obsessed
• The Royalist
• PunchUp

Products and services

• The Daily Beast (flagship website) The flagship digital news publication offering politics, media, entertainment, and culture coverage for general consumers.
• Inside Trump's Head (Podcast) Political podcast hosted by Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles providing in-depth analysis of Trump's secrets and psyche.
• The Daily Beast Podcast
• Obsessed (Podcast)
• The Royalist (Podcast)
• Beast Digest Newsletter
• Cheat Sheet Newsletter
• Obsessed Newsletter
• Politics Newsletter
• Scouted Newsletter
• The Looker Editorial platform focused on beauty, wellness, and personal transformation content, led by Joanna Coles.
• Daily Beast Crossword
• Cheat Sheet (Trending News Aggregator)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Daylight MediacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 February 2026Strategic partnership where Daylight Media manages ad sales, distribution, and monetization for The Daily Beast's expanding podcast portfolio. The partnership launches with three flagship shows: The Daily Beast Podcast, Inside Trump's Head, and Obsessed. The move is intended to scale The Daily Beast's audio and video content and double its podcast slate by 2026. Daylight handles all advertising and distribution functions for the podcast network.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thedailybeast
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/TheDailyBeast
• Facebookfacebook.com/thedailybeast
• Instagraminstagram.com/thedailybeast
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newsweek-and-the-daily-beast

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The Daily Beast