DOJ investigating Variety parent’s deal for Hollywood Reporter

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Penske Media’s announced deal to acquire a majority stake in The Hollywood Reporter, reports Alexandra Steigrad and Josh Kosman of the New York Post.

Steigard and Kosman report, “Sources said DOJ officials have been reaching out to third parties — including ad agencies that work with digital media companies and in-the-know Hollywood talent agencies that rep actors and musicians — to determine whether the merger could hurt advertisers who want to reach a professional media audience.

“The DOJ is likewise concerned whether the merger could create barriers to entry for potential competitors, a source familiar with the situation said.

“The DOJ declined to comment. A spokesperson for PMC also declined to comment.

“PMC already owns the entertainment trade magazines Variety and Deadline, as well as Rolling Stone and the trade publication Music Business Worldwide.

“Its acquisitive boss Penske has long coveted The Hollywood Reporter, known for breaking salacious stories on Hollywood insiders, despite concerns that it has been losing millions. Condé Nast was said to have tried to buy THR in 2016, and Jimmy Finkelstein, owner of The Hill, reportedly circled it two years later with a $100 million offer.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.