The push to further invest in digital content continues for Time Inc.
The publisher announced today the formation of new distribution partnerships with Hulu, Yahoo and Zealot Networks for the growing volume of original video from across its portfolio of brands, including Time, People, Fortune, Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly.
Hulu, Yahoo and Zealot Networks join existing Time Inc. partners Amazon, CBS Local, Gannett/USA Today and Nextstar Broadcasting, bringing the total number of partners in the distribution network, founded two years ago, to 18.
"Today's announcement underscores our plan to expand [the network] through creative collaborations with partners that believe in premium content," said J.R. McCabe, SVP of Time Inc. Video, in an official statement.
Featuring recent launches such as Time's "A Year in Space" about NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Southern Living's "Building Hope," a series centered on building new homes for military veterans, Time Inc. claims over one billion video streams across the network—in 2015 alone.
Video views have increased fourfold across Time Inc. brands since last year, according to an October comScore report, while unique video views jumped 86 percent. With major new distribution partners, coupled with planned international expansion, those figures can only be expected to continue their ascent in the near future.
"Time Inc.'s portfolio of brands adds to the robust partner content offered throughout the Yahoo network, which reaches more than one billion users globally," said Yahoo's SVP of corporate development and partnerships, Ian Weingarten.
Heavy investment in digital content was a theme at Time Inc. throughout 2015, as revenues for the 93-year-old publisher, spun off from Time Warner last year, declined. Print advertising saw double-digit percentage losses, while digital advertising, a smaller piece of the pie, performed well. The company acquired digital natives HelloGiggles, xoJane and xoVain after scrapping All You in October, then announced a new partnership with digital ad platform GumGum last week.
Later this year, the company will introduce a state-of-the-art production studio at its new headquarters in New York's financial district, after vacating the Time Life building—its home for 56 years—in November.
