Verizon and Hearst announced that they have entered into an agreement to jointly acquire Complex, an online publisher that caters to young men. Complex is one of the fastest growing networks of sites focused on American popular culture - from entertainment news, sneakers and hip hop music to food, fashion, sports and technology - geared at the millennial male.
In addition to the joint acquisition, Complex will develop premium video content for distribution across Verizon digital platforms, including go90, AOL.com and more.
The Complex announcement comes on the heels of Verizon and Hearst's recent investments in AwesomenessTV and their agreement in March to form a 50/50 joint venture to build new multiplatform digital video channels targeting the mobile millennial audience. The venture, Verizon Hearst Media Partners, is debuting two initial channels: RatedRed.com for millennials from the heartland who crave a brand of their own, and Seriously.TV, for viewers who want digital video comedic news updates throughout the day instead of waiting for late-night programming for their take on world events.
Brian Angiolet, Verizon's senior vice president of consumer product and marketing
The decision to acquire Complex is certainly a continuation of our media strategy, which is focused on disruption that is occurring in digital media and content distribution, and involves building a portfolio of the emerging digital brands of the future for the millennial and Gen-Z audience.
