The New York Times Company is in exclusive negotiations to acquire Letterboxd, the social network for film lovers, for around $330 million, the Times reported.
Zoom in: The talks include keeping Letterboxd’s cofounders in charge while reporting to a Times Company executive, and the app would likely stay standalone for the foreseeable future.
- Letterboxd would also be plugged into the Times Company’s advertising technology, according to the Times.
The backstory: Sony Pictures Entertainment and A24 were also recently reported to be among the parties interested in buying Letterboxd from its current parent company, Tiny Ltd.
By the numbers: At $330 million, Letterboxd would rank as the Times Company’s second largest acquisition, behind The Athletic at $550 million and well ahead of Wirecutter at slightly more than $30 million.
- The company also bought Wordle for a price it described as in the low seven figures.
Yes, but: Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander declined to comment, and Letterboxd and Tiny Ltd. had yet to respond to a request for comment from The Verge.
Why it matters: The Times keeps buying habit-forming products outside the newsroom, and that bundle of games, product reviews, sports and now film logging is what its subscription growth increasingly rests on.
