Comcast's NBCUniversal Agrees to Invest $200 Million in BuzzFeed

Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal is investing $200 million in new-media star BuzzFeed, as the cable giant continues its efforts to attract younger audiences that are fleeing traditional TV.

The equity investment will value BuzzFeed at roughly $1.5 billion, nearly double its valuation a year ago, people familiar with the matter said.

The deal, which comes a week after NBCUniversal made a similar $200 million equity investment in BuzzFeed-competitor Vox Media, gives the media company more exposure to sites that specialize in reaching millennials with a combination of news, lists and advertiser-sponsored content. BuzzFeed's prowess in online video is part of what NBCUniversal finds attractive, one of the people said.

The companies said they will explore strategic partnerships in the coming months. Kenneth Lerer, BuzzFeed's executive chairman, said that could include collaborating on television content, movies, the Olympics, and joint partnerships with brands and ad agencies.

"It's a fascinating time for the media industry; social, mobile, digital, and broadcast platforms are converging to create new opportunities to connect with global audiences, and we're excited to partner with NBCUniversal to combine our respective strengths to build the future of news and entertainment," said Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed's founder and CEO.

NBCUniversal, which owns channels such as USA, Bravo, E! and MSNBC, has struggled like other media companies to maintain a connection with young viewers, who have increasingly dropped their cable connections in favor of watching video online.

More than half of BuzzFeed's 82.4 million unique visitors in July were between the ages of 18 and 34, according to comScore Inc. Vox Media, which is made up of eight websites focused on sports, politics, food, fashion and technology, had a combined 54.4 million unique visitors in July, with more than 40% between the ages of 18 and 34. The investment in Vox Media last week valued the company at about $1 billion.

Comcast had been scouting out investments in several new-media companies in recent months, as it seeks a way to turn around viewership numbers that show that younger audiences are not watching as much TV as past generations did.

According to a Horizon Media analysis of Nielsen data, the median age of prime-time TV viewers rose from 46.3 to 50.5 in the past five years. And only about a quarter of people aged 18 to 34 watch prime-time TV, compared to 53.1% of those over 55.

Prior to the NBCUniversal investment, BuzzFeed had raised $96.3 million in five investment rounds. Last year, it raised $50 million from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the company at $850 million.

BuzzFeed used much of that money to invest heavily in BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, its Los Angeles-based video production unit.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 18, 2015 14:25 ET (18:25 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.