Independent and Buzzfeed announce partnership

Independent Digital News and Media Ltd (“The Independent”) and BuzzFeed, Inc. (Nasdaq: BZFD) have announced they have entered into a multi-year license and strategic partnership. The deal brings together the brands of The Independent (which includes Independent TV, IndyBest and Indy100) with BuzzFeed UK, Tasty UK, Seasoned and HuffPost UK, to form one operation in the UK and Ireland, led by The Independent.

The publisher says the partnership forms a ‘digital supergroup’ under the management of The Independent, one of Britain’s biggest digital news brands, combining innovation and expertise across the portfolio of brands, with new collaborations in media innovation, marketing opportunities and e-commerce.

The publishers say they will combine their publishing, data, and ad-tech platforms to allow commercial partners to buy across their sites, with combined on-site audiences that together reach half of all British consumers. This will offer unrivalled reach and authority among Gen Z and Millennial audiences across video, web and social media, claim the publishers.

As part of the deal, BuzzFeed Inc.’s UK staff – both commercial and editorial – will move over to The Independent, with BuzzFeed, Inc providing its global content, tech, and support to The Independent.

The partnership aims to enable expanded commercial offerings and a broadened editorial footprint. Ecommerce, events, audio, content syndication and licensing opportunities will be supported by targeted data segments as publishers and marketers move to first-party data and away from reliance on third-party cookies.

BuzzFeed UK is most recently behind viral hits such as the celebrity driven interview series, “Celebritea”. Its portfolio of UK brands includes journalism from the HuffPost UK newsroom, which is behind editorial series such as the millennial finance series, “At What Cost?” and daily political reporting.

Tasty UK is one of the largest digital food brands in the UK with over 30M cross-platform followers and innovative commercial partnerships, such as the Fiver Feast video series with Lidl.

Seasoned is BuzzFeed UK’s homegrown Black British identity brand that publishes the podcast, Seasoned Sessions, and a growing list of commercial partnerships.

“The Independent’s growth and outstanding success story over the last decade has been built on bold moves, and our partnership with BuzzFeed represents a new leap forward for our business. Combining these world-renowned brands, each celebrated in its own right for industry-leading digital innovation, is designed to create unprecedented opportunities for these titles and all the commercial partners we work with,” said Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent. “By pooling the talent, tech and data, and creating Britain’s biggest publisher network for Gen Z and millennial audiences, we seek to unlock investment in new editorial products and services that will ultimately benefit the readers of all the titles.”

“This strategic partnership marks an important milestone in BuzzFeed’s 10-year presence in the UK,” said Richard Alan Reid, EVP head of studio & international. “We are thrilled to partner with The Independent, a powerhouse UK media company with vast experience in publishing. Their ambition in the digital space is hugely exciting, and we believe makes them the perfect partner to deepen the connection with our young, diverse audience. The synergies between our companies have been clear from day one, and we know this partnership will unlock new business, drive growth and ultimately take both companies’ brands to the next level in the UK and Ireland.”