Channels with Peter Kafka

J2 Global CEO Vivek Shah on being a serial acquirer of media businesses


Listen Later

J2 Global CEO Vivek Shah talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about running the company that owns a portfolio of digital brands, including Mashable, PCMag and Speedtest.

In this episode: What J2 Global is; the importance of having multiple revenue streams in media; how Shah turned Ziff Davis around; why much of J2's business is built around performance marketing and affiliate commerce; buying Mashable and returning it to profitability; bidding for Gawker Media and what J2 would have done with it; making the cultures of acquired media companies fit within the larger company; the silver lining of the media industry's troubles; what J2 wants to buy; why Speedtest is so valuable; is increasing awareness of and regulation around privacy a problem for that business?; Humble Bundle and the most important equation for building a subscription business; and why "we are the largest internet company that many people have never heard of."

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Channels with Peter KafkaBy Vox Media Podcast Network

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

549 ratings


More shows like Channels with Peter Kafka

View all
Explain It to Me by Vox

Explain It to Me

7,857 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,726 Listeners

Switched on Pop by Vulture

Switched on Pop

2,678 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,538 Listeners

Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Gastropod

3,660 Listeners

The Vergecast by The Verge

The Vergecast

3,708 Listeners

The Talk Show With John Gruber by Daring Fireball / John Gruber

The Talk Show With John Gruber

3,145 Listeners

Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

Decoder with Nilay Patel

3,155 Listeners

Good One by Vulture

Good One

1,483 Listeners

Strictly Business by iHeartPodcasts

Strictly Business

92 Listeners

Land of the Giants by Vulture

Land of the Giants

2,164 Listeners

Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast by Vox Media Podcast Network

Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

5,978 Listeners

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown by Vox Media Podcast Network

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

23,593 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,551 Listeners

A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe by Vox Media Podcast Network

A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe

721 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,507 Listeners

Good Noticings by Vox Media Podcast Network

Good Noticings

6,476 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,309 Listeners

The Powers That Be: Daily by Puck | Audacy

The Powers That Be: Daily

366 Listeners

Cover Story by New York Magazine

Cover Story

1,219 Listeners

Plain English with Derek Thompson by The Ringer

Plain English with Derek Thompson

2,233 Listeners

The Town with Matthew Belloni by The Ringer

The Town with Matthew Belloni

1,118 Listeners

Ankler Agenda by TheAnkler.com

Ankler Agenda

116 Listeners

Not Just Football with Cam Heyward by Cam Heyward

Not Just Football with Cam Heyward

151 Listeners

On with Kara Swisher by Vox Media

On with Kara Swisher

3,531 Listeners

Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF by Vivian Tu

Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

1,747 Listeners

Served with Andy Roddick by Served with Andy Roddick

Served with Andy Roddick

1,082 Listeners

Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

Prof G Markets

1,425 Listeners

Mixed Signals from Semafor Media by Semafor Podcasts

Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

202 Listeners

The Grill Room by Audacy | Puck

The Grill Room

56 Listeners

Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird by Sue Bird

Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird

436 Listeners

Solutions with Henry Blodget by Vox Media Podcast Network

Solutions with Henry Blodget

32 Listeners