Cleveland Scene Inc(scene)

What Cleveland Scene Inc(scene) does

Cleveland Scene Inc is a privately held, for-profit local media company founded in 1970 and headquartered at 1422 Euclid Avenue, Suite 730, in Cleveland, Ohio. The company operates an integrated media platform serving the Cleveland metropolitan area, comprising a primary news and culture website (clevescene.com), a monthly print magazine, email newsletters, a community events calendar, and the annual Best of Cleveland reader's-choice awards program (running since at least 2001). Editorial coverage spans local news, Ohio news, arts and culture, food and drink, music, cannabis, and city living, with themed editorial franchises (Pierogi Week, Taco Week, Burger Week, Wing Week, Pizza Week) functioning as both content products and advertiser vehicles.

The technology backbone is Newspack, a publishing platform purpose-built for news organizations, with digital advertising operations outsourced to Playwire LLC and sponsored content produced in partnership with Levitated Media. The company distributes content through its owned site plus Facebook, X, Instagram, Apple News, and Google News, and runs a community engagement layer on a clevescene.com subdomain that hosts Best of Cleveland voting, events listings, and movie times.

Revenue is generated through four primary streams: digital advertising (display, sponsored content, partner corner), reader subscriptions and recurring support via a fundjournalism.org donation page, sponsored/partner content placements, and monetization tied to the Best of Cleveland awards cycle. The company serves two core customer segments — Cleveland-area residents seeking local independent journalism and local businesses seeking audience reach — with no disclosed enterprise or anchor advertisers and no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or management team information in the source material.

Name

Cleveland Scene Inc(scene)

Legal name

Cleveland Scene

Website

https://clevescene.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Cleveland Scene is a Cleveland, Ohio-based local independent news and culture media company, operating a website, monthly print magazine, newsletter, and the annual Best of Cleveland awards, monetized through digital advertising and reader subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local News Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & City Guide Content Aggregators (MPACAKAJ)

Keywords

• Local news media
• Alternative weekly newspaper
• Digital news publishing
• Local advertising platform
• Community events coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

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 Advertising: Cleveland Scene generates advertising revenue through its website, managed by Playwire LLC. The site displays banner ads, sponsored content, and partner corner articles.
2. Subscription/Reader Support: Readers can subscribe or support the publication through 'Support Us' and 'Subscribe' options, providing recurring or one-time payments to support local journalism.
3. Sponsored/Partner Content: The Partner Corner section features sponsored content from various businesses including dating sites, cam sites, and other services, providing advertising revenue.
4. Best of Cleveland Awards Program: Annual Best of Cleveland awards program that engages readers and local businesses, potentially generating revenue through participation fees or increased traffic.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cleveland Scene is a local independent news and culture media company serving the Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan area. It publishes an online news website (clevescene.com), a monthly print magazine, email newsletters, and a community events calendar, and runs the annual Best of Cleveland reader's choice awards program. The platform distributes editorial content across news, arts, food, drink, and music categories, and monetizes primarily through digital advertising and reader subscriptions/support.

Product overview

Cleveland Scene is a local independent news and culture media company serving the Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan area. The company operates a unified media platform consisting of an online news website (clevescene.com), a monthly print magazine, email newsletters, and a community events calendar. The Best of Cleveland awards program is a signature annual initiative. The platform generates revenue through advertising and reader support/subscriptions, and is built on the Newspack publishing platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cleveland Scene Online News Platform Primary digital news platform providing local independent news and culture coverage for the Cleveland, Ohio area, including news articles, events calendars, restaurant reviews, music coverage, and community content across News & Views, Arts & Culture, Food & Drink, and Music categories. Targeted at Cleveland area residents.
• Cleveland Scene Print Magazine Monthly print publication featuring in-depth local journalism, investigative reporting, arts coverage, and cultural content for the Cleveland community.
• Best of Cleveland Awards Annual reader's choice awards program recognizing the best local businesses, restaurants, services, and cultural venues in the Cleveland area across Food & Drink, Shops & Services, Arts & Entertainment, People & Places, Bars & Clubs, and Sports & Recreation categories.
• Cleveland Scene Advertising Services Advertising and marketing services offering local businesses promotional opportunities through display ads, sponsored content, and partnership options on the Cleveland Scene platform, with ad operations managed by Playwire LLC.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Playwire LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationPlaywire LLC manages advertising on Cleveland Scene's website. They collect and use certain aggregated and anonymized data for advertising purposes as disclosed in the privacy policy.
• NewspackcoreTechnology or IntegrationCleveland Scene is powered by Newspack, a publishing platform for news organizations.
• Levitated MediaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLevitated Media produces content for Cleveland Scene's Partner Corner section, including dating and lifestyle content.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nashville Scene: Long-running alt-weekly newspaper covering Nashville's news, arts, food, drink, and music with a very similar brand and content structure to Cleveland Scene, including a 'Best of Nashville' franchise.
• The Austin Chronicle: Independent alt-weekly in Austin with news, music, food, and events coverage, plus a 'Best of Austin' readers' poll. Closely mirrors Cleveland Scene's editorial verticals and event-driven community model.
• Chicago Reader: Iconic Chicago alt-weekly covering local news, arts, music, and food, with a 'Best of Chicago' franchise. Directly comparable in mission, audience, and revenue mix (advertising + reader support).
• Willamette Week: Portland alt-weekly known for investigative local journalism, arts coverage, and its 'Best of Portland' issue. Comparable to Cleveland Scene as an independent city-focused publication with awards-driven engagement.
• Riverfront Times: St. Louis alt-weekly covering local news, arts, food, and music. Operates a 'Best of St. Louis' franchise analogous to Best of Cleveland, making it a strong format and revenue-mix comparable.
• Washington City Paper: Washington, D.C. alt-weekly with local news, arts, food, and events coverage and a 'Best of D.C.' franchise. Comparable editorial scope, sponsor-supported model, and city-focused brand.
• LA Weekly: Long-established Los Angeles alt-weekly covering arts, music, food, and local news. Closely comparable as an independent local culture publication competing for the same kind of readers and advertisers.
• The Pitch: Kansas City alt-weekly covering news, arts, music, and food. Comparable size and city-tier market to Cleveland, with a similar 'Best of Kansas City' awards franchise and ad-supported digital model.
• Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit digital local news outlet covering Chicago neighborhood news. Comparable to Cleveland Scene as a digital-first local news brand competing for engaged city audiences and reader-supported revenue.

Broad incumbents

• Axios Local: Axios's network of city-focused digital newsletters and local-desk operations. Not a direct alt-weekly competitor, but addresses the same local-news-and-events audience with a national brand, premium newsletter products, and significant ad-sales scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ClevelandScene
• Facebookfacebook.com/ClevelandScene
• Instagraminstagram.com/clevelandscene
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cleveland-scene

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Cleveland Scene Inc(scene)