• The billionaire owners of the Nets and Liberty are hatching a media brand rooted in Brooklyn culture.
• BSE Global plans to launch a new brand in early 2025, focusing on the "zeitgeist of Brooklyn."
• The venture has money and expertise but faces a tough digital-media climate.

A trio of billionaires is looking to turn "Brooklyn" into a media brand in the vein of the youth and pop-culture outlet Complex.

Details have been trickling out in the New York media scene about moves by BSE Global — the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and Barclays Center — to build an expansive media and entertainment company.

BSE plans to launch the new global media brand in early 2025 with a focus on "capturing and sharing the zeitgeist of Brooklyn," spokesperson Sheerin Salimi confirmed to Business Insider.

The money behind BSE comes from Alibaba cofounder Joe Tsai and his wife Clara Wu Tsai, along with Julia Koch. Koch, the widow of billionaire and conservative megadonor David Koch, bought 15% of BSE Global in June in a deal that valued the company at $6 billion.

Five people with direct knowledge of BSE's media plans described grand ambitions, saying the company envisions building a brand that is rooted in Brooklyn culture but can travel nationally and even globally. These people were granted anonymity to talk about confidential plans; their identities are known to BI.

Salimi confirmed to BI that the project is being called "Brand X" internally. One of the people with direct knowledge of BSE's plans said one potential name floated was "Boom," though Salimi said this is not currently under consideration.

Salimi said BSE is building complementary businesses alongside its teams and Barclays Center that tap into Brooklyn's spirit through sports, fashion, food, music, and the arts.

BSE has hired a slew of Complex veterans

BSE planted the seeds for a media push when it purchased in March the local outlet Brooklyn Magazine, which it relaunched in November as BKMag.

"They're trying to be like the voice of Brooklyn," a second person with direct knowledge of BSE's plans said. "There's a national opportunity that doesn't exist with Brooklyn Magazine. People name their kids Brooklyn."

BSE has explored several different approaches and considered building or buying a collection of lifestyle titles. The second person with direct knowledge of BSE's plans said the company also looked at buying Complex to accelerate its plans.

Under CEO Sam Zussman, a veteran of sports and culture agency IMG, BSE has brought on at least five Complex veterans. He also hired former longtime Complex CEO Rich Antoniello as an advisor.

Complex was started in 2002 by streetwear designer Marc Ecko and became a rare digital media success story, helped by its influence on youth culture and its long-form video series on YouTube. It spawned a festival called ComplexCon, product lines, and other ventures.

BuzzFeed acquired Complex in 2021 for $300 million and sold it in early 2024 to the e-commerce company NTWRK for about a third of what it originally paid. BuzzFeed kept Complex's food vertical, First We Feast, best known for its popular video series "Hot Ones."

BSE sees Brooklyn as a launchpad for ventures from wine to comedy

BSE's broad idea is to use Brooklyn's cultural capital to build a string of businesses spanning from hotels and music venues to wine, streetwear, and media. As part of a $100 million plan to enhance the area, BSE recently opened two membership clubs at Barclays Center with luxury touches like velvet furnishings and specialty cocktails and has launched a wine club. BSE has also looked at doing a comedy tour, said a third person with knowledge of the company's media plans.

Overseeing the media effort is DeJuan Wilson, who joined BSE in February as its chief products and experiences officer. Wilson is a longtime marketer who's worked at Endeavor, Coca-Cola, Nike, and SoundCloud.

Along with tapping Antoniello, BSE has hired other Complex alums including Aia Adriano, Complex's former VP of content; Stefan Breskin, a former social media director; Zion Olojede, its former head of sports; Erika Turner, its former VP of programming and development; and Lucas Wisenthal, its former international content development director.

Digital media is a troubled sector

Digital media has faced major headwinds lately, as Big Tech companies have siphoned much of the digital ad spending and squeezed publisher distribution on their platforms.

Even with BSE's deep pockets and well-connected leadership, some of the people with direct knowledge of its plans were skeptical about how far its commitment to media would ultimately go. Some also noted that the city is already served by many established outlets like The New York Times, Vox Media's New York magazine, and smaller local outlets.

Still, BSE's roots in sports could be an important asset at a time when athletes and teams are becoming even more central to media and pop culture. BSE's New York Liberty women's basketball team just celebrated its first championship, and its mascot, Ellie the Elephant, has become a fashion icon in her own right. The NBA's Brooklyn Nets, meanwhile, has built a big global fan base, partly thanks to its willingness to play games abroad.

Other media companies have been built around sports teams. There's YES Network, a regional sports network that's home to the New York Yankees, Nets, and Liberty, all well as producing other sports-related content; and Sphere Entertainment's MSG Network, which carries New York Knicks games and other sports-themed programming.

"I think BSE realizes they have a really strong brand they can build stuff around right now," said a fourth person with direct knowledge of the company's media plans.

• Vox Media just cut some staff and reorganized its lifestyle brands.
• CEO Jim Bankoff said the company was responding to constant change in the media business.
• Thrillist will be operated by Eater, among other changes.

Vox Media just cut staff across its lifestyle brands, CEO Jim Bankoff announced in a memo to staff.

The parent of New York magazine, Vox, The Verge, and other popular media brands last laid off employees a year ago, when it cut 4% of staff. A Vox Media spokeswoman declined to say how many people were let go in the current reduction.

In the memo, which Business Insider obtained, Bankoff said the layoffs and "organizational changes" would impact Thrillist, PS, and Eater.

He said that, moving forward, Thrillist would be operated by Eater and that PS would "concentrate on its extensive footprint across social and video platforms with an even stronger emphasis on shopping."

Vox Media got the lifestyle brands Thrillist and PS (previously named PopSugar) when it acquired fellow digital media company Group Nine in early 2022. The deal was part of an ongoing consolidation of digital-media outlets to better compete for ad dollars with Google and Facebook. Digital publishing has generally struggled as Big Tech platforms have dominated digital ad spending.

Bankoff said in the memo that Vox Media would continue to focus on areas where it sees the most opportunity, including building direct audiences and its Vox Media Podcast Network. Vox Media also recently put tech-focused The Verge behind a paywall.

Here's the full memo from Bankoff:

Team,

Today, we're implementing role eliminations and organizational changes across our lifestyle brands (Thrillist, PS and Eater), Product, and the Media Production & Technology organization. All affected employees have been notified and are receiving transition support.

Each of our brands faces distinct market opportunities and challenges. As you know, the pace of change is accelerating for media businesses and it is essential to our success that we continuously evaluate how and where we invest to serve our audiences best to advance the long term health of our business.

In particular, the ways audiences are interacting with our Thrillist and PS brands have changed and we must adapt. Going forward, Thrillist will be operated by Eater, on a similar model to Punch, leveraging shared leadership and resources. PS will concentrate on its extensive footprint across social and video platforms with an even stronger emphasis on shopping. Eater is reorganizing its cities coverage into a regional model in order to most efficiently serve its audience's needs. The Product and Media Production & Technology organizations are being restructured to meet the current needs and scale of the business.

Throughout our history, we've led the digital media landscape because we've been willing to adapt and evolve as technology and the way people consume content change. These actions, while difficult, are consistent with our strategic priority to deepen audience connections to the brands and franchises that drive loyalty while ensuring our financial strength. As was the case this year, in 2025 we will continue to invest in our business where we see the clearest opportunities: editorial and user experiences that build loyal, direct audiences; a high-value advertising proposition based on unique intellectual property; strong brands that command audience attention; leading multimedia productions like we're building with the Vox Media Podcast Network; and consumer-direct businesses to diversify revenue streams and grow recurring revenue.

While our focus on improving our financial strength is always a priority, this year we have made meaningful progress to ensure our long-term profitability. This has meant difficult decisions and ongoing financial discipline about where we're investing and where we're pulling back. To our departing colleagues, I'm grateful for your contributions. To everyone at Vox Media, thank you for your continued commitment to our work.

Jim

• NowThis laid off about half its unionized newsroom, marking the second deep round of cuts this year.
• The layoffs affected 13 of NowThis' 21 WGA East members.
• A softness in digital advertising has led to widespread media layoffs in recent years.

NowThis recently laid off about half its unionized newsroom, the second round of deep cuts this year at the progressive digital news outlet.

The layoffs impacted 13 of NowThis' 21 members of WGA East, which represents the newsroom, a union representative told Business Insider. NowThis notified the laid-off staffers on November 15. The company also recently let go of three people on the sales side, a person close to NowThis told BI. They asked for anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the cuts. Their identity is known to BI.

A NowThis spokesperson confirmed the layoffs to BI and said the company remained committed to making "impactful content."

In September, NowThis hired a new editor-in-chief, Michael Vito Valentino, formerly of Fallen Media and MTV, as it looked to shift focus to Gen-Z audiences.

NowThis was once a fast-growing digital news outlet that took off among young consumers. It soared in popularity by making short-form, text-on-screen videos — often about politics or social issues — that spread widely on social media. It joined Vox Media through Vox's 2021 acquisition of Group Nine Media. Vox spun NowThis off in 2023 through a deal with Accelerate Change, a nonprofit focused on promoting civic engagement among underrepresented groups. Vox retained a minority stake in the company and has an arrangement to sell advertising for NowThis.

A Vox Media spokesperson referred a request for comment to NowThis.

At the time of the spinoff, the plan was for NowThis to ramp up to cover the 2024 election. Accelerate Change is backed by progressive organizations such as the Open Society Foundations, which was founded by George Soros, the billionaire investor and major Democratic political donor. It also backs other news outlets, including ParentsTogether, PushBlack, Pulso, and Noticias Para Inmigrantes.

The earlier round of layoffs at NowThis, in February, curtailed some of the company's coverage ambitions, though. That round impacted 26 of its 50 members of WGA East. At the time, the company said the reduction was meant to ensure the business was sustainable, and that no more cuts were planned.

Many news media outlets have been hit by layoffs in recent years amid a general softness in digital advertising spending. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracked 3,402 job cuts in news so far this year through September, up 40% from 2,423 cuts during the year-earlier period.

After this story's publication, WGA East gave a statement to BI about the recent layoffs:

On Friday, November 15, at around 8:30 AM, 13 of the 21 remaining NowThis WGAE members were laid off immediately upon receipt of an email notice. The layoffs eliminated 3 of 4 members of the publishing team, 3 of 4 video editors, 3 of 7 Producers and Senior Producers, the sole Senior Motion Graphics Designer, the sole Senior Writer, the sole Senior Insights Analyst, and the sole Audience Strategist. The barebones group of remaining salaried workers at NowThis will now be forced to meet tight deadlines and increasing pressure without proper teams to support them.

In late October the company celebrated their "new editorial vision and advisory board" at an influencer-filled, private party. Mere weeks later, workers were blindsided by the news that the Company's "new editorial vision" apparently includes slashing their already stretched-thin teams.

At the start of 2022, there were 65 unit members at NowThis. Today, only 8 remain.

These reckless and cruel layoffs run completely counter to NowThis's self-professed "human-centered" approach to storytelling. The Guild stands in solidarity with the workers who built this company, only to be shown the door at the beginning of the holiday season.