Federated Media
Federated Media is a San Francisco-based private integrated media company, founded in 2005, that connects brand advertisers with publisher audiences through native content and advertising solutions across a federated blog and vertical network.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Federated Media does
Federated Media is a private, San Francisco-based integrated media company founded in 2005 that drives brand engagement through native content and advertising solutions. The company built and operated a federated network connecting independent online publishers with brand advertisers, enabling sponsored and editorial-style content placement across third-party blogs and owned properties. Over time, the company extended its footprint through acquisitions, adding FoodBuzz (a food-focused publisher community) and BigTent Design (creative and production capability) in November 2010.
The company's core product offering centered on native advertising — branded content produced to match the editorial voice and format of host publishers — supplemented by vertical-specific owned-and-operated properties (notably in food following the FoodBuzz acquisition) and in-house creative services. The underlying business model was media-based: Federated Media monetized brand advertiser budgets by packaging audience reach across its publisher network into native ad placements, sponsorships, and branded content programs.
Federated Media raised approximately $65 million across five disclosed funding rounds between 2005 and 2013, with investors including The New York Times, Omidyar Network, JPMorgan Partners, and Oak Investment Partners (which co-led the $50 million Series 3 in April 2008). The company remains private, headquartered in San Francisco, with 101-250 employees per available firmographic data. No post-2013 strategic activity is disclosed in the input.
Federated Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Federated Media
- Legal name
- Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
- Website
- https://federatedmedia.net
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Federated Media is a San Francisco-based private integrated media company, founded in 2005, that connects brand advertisers with publisher audiences through native content and advertising solutions across a federated blog and vertical network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Federated Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Advertising Services
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community-Integrated Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Creator Publishing & Membership Platforms (Writer-Centric) (MPACAIAD), Creator Commerce & Affiliate Monetization Platforms (MPACAFAF)
Keywords
Where Federated Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Federated Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Television Advertising: Local and national advertising across 201 television stations. Nexstar produces over 317,000 hours of news, sports, and entertainment programming annually, creating advertising inventory for local and national advertisers.
- Digital Advertising and Services: Digital advertising, native advertising, social media, ad ops, design, and development services through Nexstar's digital division. Combined digital properties rank among top ten in U.S. by Comscore based on online user activity.
- Retransmission Consent: Fees from cable and satellite operators for carriage of Nexstar's television stations
- Network Affiliation Fees: Fees from network affiliations for carrying major network programming on Nexstar stations
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Federated Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Federated Media is an integrated media company that drives engagement for brands through pure native content and advertising solutions. The company connects brand advertisers with a curated network of premium independent publishers and bloggers, enabling branded content to be distributed within trusted editorial environments rather than through traditional display advertising.
Product overview
Nexstar Media Group operates as a diversified media company with a platform-plus-channels architecture. The core offering consists of 201 television stations reaching 70% of U.S. households, supported by the Digital Technology & Operations (NXST Digital) division for content publishing and advertising. NewsNation serves as the company's national cable network brand. Local content is distributed through 176 websites and 292 mobile apps. The portfolio produces over 317,000 hours of news, sports, and entertainment programming annually, with multi-platform marketing services connecting advertisers to local consumers across screens and devices.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- NewsNation: Cable news network offering national news coverage including documentaries and special programming such as Spirit of America road trip for America's 250th birthday
Products and services
- Native Content & Advertising Solutions Integrated media offering that delivers brand engagement through pure native content and advertising solutions, matching brands with premium independent publishers and bloggers for branded content campaigns.
- FoodBuzz Influencer Community Platform Food blogger and content creator community platform acquired to strengthen Federated Media's vertical publisher network in the food content category.
- BigTent Design Services Design services capability acquired to support Federated Media's branded content creation and custom advertising creative production.
Quantifiable outcome
- 70% U.S. household reach
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Federated Media
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Federated Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Federated Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Comscore, Inc.coreNexstar's digital properties would be among the top ten in the U.S. as ranked by Comscore, Inc. based on online user activity. Comscore provides audience measurement and analytics for Nexstar's digital portfolio.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Federated Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Outbrain: Content discovery and native advertising platform that distributes branded content across a network of premium publisher sites. Directly comparable to Federated Media's federated native ad model.
- Taboola: Native content recommendation and advertising network powering discovery on publisher sites. Closely aligned with Federated Media's native content + publisher network approach.
- Mode Media (formerly Glam Media): Federated digital media company that built a vertical network of lifestyle content sites monetized via advertising — a near-mirror of Federated Media's vertical/site-network strategy.
- BuzzFeed: Digital media company built around native branded content and social-driven storytelling; competes for the same brand-native advertising budgets as Federated Media.
- PopSugar: Lifestyle digital media brand combining owned content with influencer marketing and branded content, competing with Federated Media for brand engagement budgets in the lifestyle vertical.
- SheKnows Media: Digital media publisher monetized through advertising and branded content, operating in adjacent verticals to Federated Media's publisher network.
- Vice Media: Digital-first media company built on native branded video and editorial content; competes for the same premium brand-native spend and digital-first audiences.
- BlogHer: Community-integrated publishing platform for independent women creators monetized via advertising and branded content; highly comparable in target audience and federated-network approach.
Broad incumbents
- The Huffington Post: Large-scale digital publisher blending native advertising with editorial content; competes broadly for the same brand dollars but operates primarily owned-and-operated rather than a federated network.
- About.com / Dotdash: Vertically-focused digital content publisher monetized through advertising and affiliate links; adjacent business model and overlapping advertiser base with Federated Media.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Federated Media social profiles
Digital presenceFederated Media compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Federated Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Federated Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Federated Media subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
Federated Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Federated Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Federated Media
What does Federated Media do?
Federated Media is an integrated media company that drives engagement for brands through pure native content and advertising solutions. The company connects brand advertisers with a curated network of premium independent publishers and bloggers, enabling branded content to be distributed within trusted editorial environments rather than through traditional display advertising.
Is Federated Media a public or private company?
Federated Media is a public company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Federated Media founded?
Federated Media was founded in 1998. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Federated Media based?
Federated Media is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Federated Media make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Television Advertising is the primary driver. The others are digital Advertising and Services, retransmission Consent and network Affiliation Fees.
Who are Federated Media's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Outbrain, Taboola, Mode Media (formerly Glam Media), BuzzFeed, PopSugar, SheKnows Media, Vice Media and BlogHer. Broad incumbents are The Huffington Post and About.com / Dotdash.
Does Federated Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Federated Media.
What industry is Federated Media in?
Federated Media's product category is Digital Advertising Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAIAI, Community-Integrated Publishing Platforms, with a secondary code of MPACAIAD, Creator Publishing & Membership Platforms (Writer-Centric). Its NAICS code is 516210 and its SIC code is 2741.