Hearst Connecticut Media staff report
Greenwich-based media company Townsquare Media said it has acquired hip-hop brand XXL, as well as King and Antenna, from Harris Publications, a consumer magazine company based in New York City.
The new properties join a roster of more than 20 premium multiplatform brands including PopCrush, JustJared, Taste of Country and Hype Machine.
Founded in 1997, XXL is a leading hip-hop magazine, which drove Harris Publications”™ No. 1 rank in Urban/Ethnic magazine sales in 2013. In addition to print sales, XXL generated roughly 1.3 million monthly unique visitors in the U.S. this August, according to ComScore.
Following the October edition of XXL magazine, the magazine will cease regular publication to focus exclusively on digital operations as well as special editions of the publication in the future. As part of the transactions, all members of the XXL team will be joining Townsquare Media.
Townsquare is planning to relaunch the King magazine brand as a digital-only product. Antenna will continue as a digital-only lifestyle site focusing on fashion, news, sports, music and pop culture content for men.
“The acquisition of XXL, King and Antenna from Harris Publications represents the continued growth of Townsquare Media”™s national digital asset portfolio and our commitment to the cultivation of influential brands and original multimedia content in music and entertainment,” Bill Wilson, chief content officer at Townsquare, said in a statement. “We are tremendously excited to add these premium brands to Townsquare Media”™s portfolio which attracts over 75 million U.S. monthly unique visitors, allowing advertisers and agencies to better reach the incredibly important urban audience.”
Hearst Connecticut Media includes four daily newspapers: Connecticut Post, Greenwich Time, The Advocate (Stamford) and The News Times (Danbury).
