Comcast is in early talks with several “new media” companies in an effort to reach younger consumers who are turning away from traditional TV.
Among those in discussions are Vice, BuzzFeed and Business Insider, the Wall Street Journal reported. Vice’s conversations are with Comcast’s entertainment arm NBCUniversal, which had no comment on the matter. Comcast is considering everything from strategic investments of to full-on acquisitions of these companies.
That said, the Journal cited anonymous sources that state Vice — recently valued at $2.5 billion — is not interested in being acquired, but might be open to an equity stake and a cable channel.
The cable giant is also eyeing an increased stake in Vox Media, a company that Comcast currently owns 14 percent of. None of the media companies involved immediately responded to TheWrap‘s request for comment.
On Thursday morning, Comcast reported strong second quarter financials thanks in large part to its box office and theme park takes. TV and cable were mostly flat year over year.
Comcast and its competitors are challenged with attracting the so-called “cord cutters” and “cord shavers,” who are turning to online content for their news and entertainment.
Earlier this month, Comcast announced a new live TV streaming service, titled “Stream.”