Description
The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes The New York Times, its associated publications, and other media properties. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City.
History
The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. The first edition of the newspaper The New York Times, published on September 18, 1851, stated: "We publish today the first issue of the New-York Daily Times, and we intend to issue it every morning (Sundays excepted) for an indefinite number of years to come."
The company moved into the cable channel industry, purchasing a 40% interest in the Popcorn Channel, a theatrical movie preview and local movie times, in November 1994. In 1996, it expanded upon its broadcasting by purchasing Palmer Communications, owners of WHO-DT in Des Moines and KFOR in Oklahoma City.
The company completed its purchase of The Washington Post's 50 percent interest in the International Herald Tribune (IHT) for US$65 million on January 1, 2003, becoming the sole owner.
On March 18, 2005, the company acquired About.com, an online provider of consumer information, for US$410 million. In 2005, the company reported revenues of US$3.4 billion to its investors.
The Times, on August 25, 2006, acquired Baseline StudioSystems, an online database and research service on the film and television industries for US$35 million.
The company announced on September 12, 2006, its decision to sell its Broadcast Media Group, consisting of "nine network-affiliated television stations, their related Web sites and the digital operating center". The New York Times reported on January 4, 2007, that the company had reached an agreement to sell all nine local television stations to the private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, which then created a holding company for the stations, Local TV LLC. The company announced that it had finalized the sale of its Broadcast Media Group on May 7, 2007, for "approximately $575 million".
On May 7, 2007, the company announced that its About.com web information service was acquiring Consumersearch.com, a Web site that compiles reviews of consumer products, for $33 million in cash.
In 2007, the company moved from 229 West 43rd Street to the New York Times Building at 620 Eighth Avenue, on the west side of Times Square, between 40th and 41st streets across from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Bus Terminal.
On July 14, 2009, the company announced that WQXR was to be sold to WNYC, which moved the station to 105.9 FM and began to operate the station noncommercially on October 8, 2009. This US$45 million transaction, which involved Univision Radio's WCAA moving to the 96.3 FM frequency from 105.9 FM, ended the Times' 65-year-long ownership of the station.
In December 2011, the company sold its Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Group, owners of The Daytona Beach News-Journal, for $143 million. The Boston Globe and The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester were not part of the sale. In 2011, the Times sold Baseline StudioSystems back to its original owners, Laurie S. Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein, majority shareholders of Project Hollywood LLC.
Facing falling revenue from print advertising in its flagship publication in 2011, The New York Times, the company introduced a paywall to its website. As of 2012, it had been modestly successful, garnering several hundred thousand subscriptions and about $100 million in annual revenue.
In 2013, the New York Times Company sold The Boston Globe and other New England media properties to John W. Henry, the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox. According to the Times Company, the move was made in order to focus more on its core brands.
After forming an editorial partnership with the New York Times in 2015, The Wirecutter was acquired by the Times in October 2016 for a reported $30 million.
In March 2020, the New York Times Company acquired subscription-based audio app, Audm.
In July 2020, the New York Times Company acquired podcast production company Serial Productions. The same month, the company appointed chief operating officer Meredith Kopit Levien to the position of CEO.
In February 2022, the New York Times Company bought The Athletic, a subscription-based sports news website, for $550 million. Its founders, Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann, stayed with the publication, which runs separately from the Times. Later that month, it acquired Wordle, an Internet word puzzle game that grew from 90 players in October 2021 to millions at the time of purchase.
ValueAct Capital took a stake in the company in August 2022. ValueAct aims to encourage the company to more actively pursue the sale of "bundled" subscriptions to its various offerings.
