What happens when media, entertainment, and technology collide? Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters to get their take. Produced by Recode and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
https://www.vox.com/recode-media-podcast
episode 196: J2 Global CEO Vivek Shah on being a serial acquirer of media businesses
J2 Global CEO Vivek Shah talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about running the company that owns a portfolio of digital brands, including Mashable, PCMag and Speedtest.
In this episode: What J2 Global is; the importance of having multiple revenue streams in media; how Shah turned Ziff Davis around; why much of J2's business is built around performance marketing and affiliate commerce; buying Mashable and returning it to profitability; bidding for Gawker Media and what J2 would have done with it; making the cultures of acquired media companies fit within the larger company; the silver lining of the media industry's troubles; what J2 wants to buy; why Speedtest is so valuable; is increasing awareness of and regulation around privacy a problem for that business?; Humble Bundle and the most important equation for building a subscription business; and why "we are the largest internet company that many people have never heard of."
Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.
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