Univision today announced that it has purchased a controlling stake in satirical news site the Onion. No, this is not a joke.
As it turns out, the network became a "minority investor," and now owns a large portion of Onion Inc., which also means that Univision owns the Onion's sister publication, AV Club, as well as Clickhole and other Onion-owned content. According to a report from NPR, the purchase is pegged at somewhere around a 40 percent stake, which also gives Univision the right to buy the company outright sometime in the future.
Univision and the Onion are both going through major transition periods. Univision is a Spanish-speaking television company, and its following has been loyal, but it is now aging. Latinos born in the U.S. might speak Spanish, but will also speak fluent English and will be more likely to consume English-speaking media. Because of its need to reach English-speaking millenials, Univision recently launched Fusion, an English-language network that works with ABC to reach Latinos who speak English.
Univision also recently announced that it purchased the Root, a website aimed at African-American readers that was founded by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The Onion has gone through a number of big changes as well. It was first started as a print newspaper in the 1980s in Wisconsin. After the financial crisis, it moved to Chicago, where it has remained since, and will remain under the new agreement.
"So what does this mean for us as a company? Good things. Univision is excited to help Onion Inc. grow, and to provide the resources to both support our long-standing mission and fund new initiatives," said Onion CEO Mike McAvoy in a staff memo acquired by NPR.
Via: NPR
