TMB Notches 110% Revenue Growth and Plans 100 Hires to Fast-Track OTT Ambitions

Reader's Digest publisher TMB, whose portfolio of more than 16 titles includes the brands like Taste of Home, grew revenue by 110% in 2021. Partly that's thanks to its August acquisition of the user-generated content company Jukin Media. The publisher declined to share exact figures. Revenue growth comes during a period of planned expansion and renovation from Trusted Media Brands, which rebranded to TMB in January. The publisher raised financing from its primary ownership groups, GoldenTree Asset Management and Empyrean Capital, to acquire video-centric Jukin Media, which houses brands like FailArmy and People Are Awesome. The funds also went to hiring 89 employees. “It has been an unbelievable 12 months, going back to when we first began conversations with Jukin Media last January,” chief executive Bonnie Kintzer told Adweek. “These two companies are incredibly complementary to each other––the strengths of each make the other company stronger. And we are now ready to go out into the world as a single company.” The publisher plans to fill more than new 100 roles in 2022, spread roughly half between editorial and commercial departments. The publisher has also appointed a number of new executives in recent months, including Rose Ferraro in February, who will serve as its new chief revenue officer, Adweek can exclusively report. The flurry of investment, hires and acquisitions is the latest chapter in a years-long effort to modernize a company once built around Reader’s Digest, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. As part of its evolution, TMB has focused on building out its video and streaming offerings and it plans to make further acquisitions in the coming months, Kintzer said. Video, in particular, can be a challenging space to break into meaningfully, but the rise of streaming channels has created an opportunity for new entrants, said global vp of publisher operations and tech strategy at Prohaska Consulting, Ameet Shah. The Jukin acquisition provides TMB with the technical wherewithal and video content necessary to make such an expansion, while its editorial titles provide an owned and operated distribution network. Revenue growth across platforms TMB closed out 2021 on an upward trajectory, recording 110% year over year revenue growth, 105% growth in affiliate and ecommerce revenue and 37% growth in streaming TV revenue, according to the publisher. It attracted an average monthly audience of 38 million readers in 2021, according to Comscore, though the sheer number of brands within the TMB portfolio can make determining precise audience figures challenging. Its digital revenue, which includes programmatic, direct, newsletters and digital products, grew 32% in 2021. Streaming revenues grew 37% in 2021, but it wouldn't share from what base. TMB, while early in its attempted transformation, aligns its cost structure to its monetization capabilities, said FTI Consulting managing director Justin Eisenband. Aggregating user-generated video or producing articles such as The 100 Funniest Jokes from the Last 100 Years is content that costs little to produce. A video-centric leadership team TMB has expanded its executive suite over the last year through hires and acquisitions. After bringing Jukin into the fold in August, TMB appointed its founder, Jonathan Skogmo, as the chief innovation officer. Jukin's co-CEO, Lee Essner, is the new chief strategy officer, and Cameron Saless and Anton Reut as chief business officer and chief operating officer, respectively. In September, TMB also hired Jason Buhrmester to act as the chief content officer of Reader’s Digest. Buhrmester previously led the digital transformation at Playboy. Recurrent Ventures’ Refurbished Outdoor Titles See 70% Audience Growth The hires and appointments signal the growing importance of video to TMB. In addition to the Jukin channels, which live on platforms like Sling TV and Roku, TMB plans to launch streaming channels for Taste of Home and Family Handyman, Kintzer said. “If you have strong channels and you keep adding new distribution platforms, the growth quickly becomes exponential,” Kintzer said.

Streaming & OTT

TMB Notches 110% Revenue Growth and Plans 100 Hires to Fast-Track OTT Ambitions

Its August acquisition of Jukin Media is part of its efforts to modernize

Mark Stenberg

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Mark Stenberg