What Was Verizon Media and What Happened to It in 2022?
If you‘ve been browsing the internet over the past few years, you may have come across references to an entity called Verizon Media. This digital media division was owned by the telecommunications giant Verizon, but in 2022 it underwent a major shift. Read on to learn all about what Verizon Media was and it‘s current status after being sold by Verizon last year.
The Original Vision: Taking On Google and Facebook
Verizon Media originated in 2017 from Verizon‘s acquisition of AOL and Yahoo under their Oath subsidiary. The purchase prices totaled over $9 billion for the two tech brands.
The vision was that by combining AOL and Yahoo into a single media entity, Verizon could amass the audience, data, and technology required to rapidly expand its digital advertising business.
Verizon hoped to leverage Oath/Verizon Media to compete directly against Facebook and Google, which control over 50% of total digital ad spend. Verizon even predicted that Oath could eventually generate $20 billion in annual ad revenues by 2020.
However, achieving this vision for transforming into a major ad player proved elusive.
Services and Tools Under Verizon Media
At it‘s peak, Verizon Media owned and operated a number of major online brands under it‘s umbrella, including:
- Yahoo. Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Mail, etc.
- AOL. The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Engadget
- Social media platforms. Tumblr, Flickr
On the technology side, Verizon Media provided:
- Ad platforms & services. Supply-side programmatic ad platform, demand-side ad buying, native ads, video ads, etc.
- Advertiser tools. Reporting dashboards for managing campaigns
- Publisher tools. Site optimization capabilities for publishers monetizing properties
So Verizon Media had assembled a substantial suite of digital media assets and advertising technologies. But turning those pieces into a thriving, high-growth business did not go according to plan.
Running Out of Options: The Sale to Apollo
In the years leading up to it‘s eventual sale, Verizon Media went through multiple rounds of layoffs and leadership changes as growth stalled.
Verizon grew impatient with the lackluster returns from it‘s media investments. By 2021, Verizon opted to sell off Verizon Media to private equity firm Apollo Global Management at a huge loss – just $5 billion compared to over $9 billion spent on the AOL and Yahoo deals.
| Key Stats | At time of Sale (2021) |
|---|---|
| Monthly active users | 900 million |
| Annual revenue (2020) | $7 billion |
| Annual EBITDA (2020) | $740 million |
The sale closed in September 2021, spelling the end of Verizon Media. Apollo rebranded the former Verizon Media properties back to simply Yahoo.
While Verizon maintains a 10% stake in Yahoo under Apollo, the company seems to have abandoned ambitions of building a digital advertising empire. For now, Verizon leadership is focused on strengthening it‘s core telecommunications businesses around wireless and 5G.
The Future of Yahoo Under Apollo
Under Apollo ownership, Yahoo has undergone additional changes like cutting 1,600 jobs and closing offices in Europe. There are also plans to explore merging with Taboola to enhance scale.
Apollo aims to revive growth at Yahoo by focusing resources on the most successful media and ad products instead of less promising ventures. But only time will tell how competitive and sustainable Yahoo‘s digital media business will remain in a sector dominated by Google/Facebook.
So in summary – Verizon Media was the former digital media and advertising division of Verizon, assembled by combining AOL and Yahoo assets in an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to take on Big Tech. Now those web properties live on simply as Yahoo under different private ownership.
