By Barbara Ortutay, Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --NBCUniversal is investing $200 million in digital media company Vox Media, whose brands include news site Vox, food blog Eater, the sports-focused SB Nation and the tech blog Re/code.
NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corp., said Wednesday that it hopes to build a partnership with Vox that involves collaborating on editorial content, advertising and technology. A representative declined to comment beyond the announcement.
A person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly confirmed that the investment values privately held Vox at $1 billion. For context, The New York Times Co., which is publicly traded, is valued at about $2.1 billion.
Philadelphia-based Comcast already has a separate investment in Vox through its venture arm, Comcast Ventures.
The investment comes amid the growing popularity of digital media brands, especially among younger people.
Vox's headquarters are in New York and Washington.
Steve McQueen Shows Wartime London Through A Child’s Eyes In “Blitz”
It was a single photograph that started Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen on the journey to make "Blitz." As a Londoner, the German bombing raids on the city during World War II are never all that far from his mind. Reminders of it are everywhere. But the spark of inspiration came from an image of a small boy on a train platform with a large suitcase. Stories inspired by the evacuation are not rare, but this child was Black. Who was he, McQueen wondered, and what was his story? The film, in theaters Friday and streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22, tells the tale of George, a 9-year-old biracial child in East London whose life with his mother, Rita ( Saoirse Ronan ), and grandfather is upended by the war. Like many children at the time, he's put on a train to the countryside for his safety. But he hops off and starts a long, dangerous journey back to his mom, encountering all sorts of people and situations that paint a revelatory and emotional picture of that moment. SEARCHING FOR GEORGE AND FINDING A STAR When McQueen finished the screenplay, he thought to himself: "Not bad." Then he started to worry: Does George exist? Is there a person out there who can play this role? Through an open casting call they found Elliott Heffernan, a 9-year-old living just outside of London whose only experience was a school play. He was the genie in "Aladdin." "There was a stillness about him, a real silent movie star quality," McQueen said. "You wanted to know what he was thinking, and you leant in. That's a movie star quality: A presence in his absence." Elliott is now 11. When he was cast, he'd not yet heard about the evacuation and imagined that a film set would be made up of "about 100 people." But he soon found his footing, cycling in and out of... Read More