ZMC

CafeMedia Sells Websites To Focus On AdThrive

CafeMedia is selling its entire publishing portfolio to RockYou to focus on AdThrive, the ad management business it acquired in 2016. The sites being sold include CafeMom, MamasLatinas, Revelist and Baby Name Wizard, totaling about 2,000 blogs in CafeMedia’s network that reach 102 million monthly unique visitors per comScore. AdThrive’s business grew 100% last year, with 800 bloggers joining since 2016, and the operation is profitable. The deal follows a private equity-led ownership change: ZMC acquired a majority stake in CafeMedia for about $250 million, with DFJ and Highland Capital exiting. Cafemedia laid off 40% of editorial staff in May and shut CafeMom forums; 40 employees joined RockYou while 80 remained at CafeMedia to focus on AdThrive. RockYou previously acquired LittleThings in April.

Health And Wellness Pub Greatist Plans Expansion With $4.5 Million Series A

Greatist, a five-year-old health and wellness publisher, announced a $4.5 million Series A round and stated it turned a profit last year. The funds will be used to expand staff to 26 and develop custom programs with advertisers including Fitbit and Kind, as well as other partners. CEO Derek Flanzraich aims to elevate Greatist to a top player in health and wellness through high-quality, journal-cited content. Investors include Floodgate Fund and media executives connected to Refinery29, DailyCandy, Thrillist, PureWow, LearnVest and AMI. The round reflects ongoing investor interest in digital publishers amid a period of activity in 2015. Greatist highlighted its traffic mix—more than half from search and under 25% from social—with 4.4 million uniques in November per comScore and about 2 million email subscribers. The company envisions growth by shifting away from banner ads toward customized content and events.

IPG Says Its Still Early In The Recovery; Fox Audience Network Repositioning; Rubicon’s Batson Joins Donovan Data Systems

AdExchanger's daily news roundup covers a mix of ad tech industry updates: IPG CEO Michael Roth cautions that the economic recovery is still early, albeit on plan. Adometry's Jim Ewel discusses IAB guidelines for exchanges and networks, emphasizing adoption and buyer signaling. Adnetik announces Intacct as a new back-office partner to support real-time buying. Fox Audience Network trims 15 staff, focusing on its MyAds self-service platform and moving headcount into engineering and product. JT Batson, formerly of Rubicon Project, joins Donovan Data Systems as president of Digital Business. The roundup also highlights a Turn partnership with Better Advertising to advance privacy-conscious programmatic tools, along with broader debates on exchanges, DSPs, and RTB.