Penske Media Corp. has sold TVLine, the 15-year-old digital news platform focused on TV news, interviews and reviews, to digital media company Static Media.
Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed. PMC, which is the parent company of Variety, launched TVLine in January 2011. Kimberly Roots will remain with TVLine as Editor in Chief after the transaction, as will the remaining staff. Matt Webb Mitovich, a TVLine veteran who had been co-EIC with Roots, will step down. Mitovich had been with the site since its inception.
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The site was founded by Michael Ausiello, formerly a columnist for Entertainment Weekly and a senior writer at TV Guide. Since its inception, TVLine has pledged to offer “a singular, unwavering focus: to deliver a concentrated stream of breaking TV news, original previews and insightful recaps/reviews.” Roots joined TVLine in 2012 and rose through the ranks as a manager, writer and editor. She was upped to the EIC post in April 2024.
PMC, which is the parent company of Variety, earlier this year also sold BGR (aka Boy Genius Report), a tech and science publication it had acquired in 2010, to Static Media. PMC declined to comment.
Static Media, based in Indianapolis, owns and operates more than two dozens brands, including SlashFilm, The List, Tasting Table, House Digest, MoneyDigest and Chowhound. It closed a deal to buy auto brand Jalopnik from G/O Media in early 2025. The company says it has an aggregate audience of more than 220 million monthly unique visitors.
In April 2023, Novacap, a Canadian private-equity firm, announced a major investment in Static Media, which it described as an acquisition by Novacap’s TMT VI fund. Previous investors in Static Media included billionaire Mark Cuban. Static Media was co-founded in 2012 by CEO Reggie Renner and chief technology officer Mike Langin.
In addition to Variety, PMC’s portfolio of brands includes Rolling Stone, Billboard, Dick Clark Productions, WWD, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, SHE Media, Robb Report, Sportico, ARTnews, Fairchild Media, Vibe, IndieWire, Artforum, Gold Derby and Luminate.
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