U.S. telecom and media giant Verizon plans to sell Tumblr to Montreal-based MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub that owns nearly every notable pornography streaming website on the internet, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.
While the still somewhat relevant micro-blogging platform rose to popularity in the early aughts as a relatively open refuge for a variety of sub-cultures and marginalized communities, it was arguably more known for the ridiculous amount of pornographic GIFs present on the platform.
Though following Verizon’s acquisition of Tumblr it was certain to happen at some point, the controversial decision to drop all adult content from Tumblr didn’t actually happen until December of 2018. As expected, Tumblr users were not pleased that the porn party was over, with the platform losing nearly 100 million monthly pageviews in the month following the ban.
It’s unclear how much Verizon plans to sell Tumblr for, but given Yahoo purchased the micro-blogging platform for $1.1 billion USD (roughly $1.4 Billion CAD) back in 2013, before writing down its value to $230 million USD (roughly $308 million CAD) only three years later, it’s likely the sum will fall somewhere between those two numbers.
Although The Wall Street Journal’s report doesn’t mention Pornhub as a potential Tumblr suitor, a recent comment given to Forbes by Pornhub vice president Corey Price indicates that a deal is in the process of being made.
Price’s full statement can be read below:
Tumblr was a safe haven for those who wanted to explore and express their sexuality, adult entertainment aficionados included. We’ve long been dismayed that such measures were taken to eradicate erotic communities on the platform, leaving many individuals without an asylum through which they could comfortably peruse adult content. There are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr. We’re extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content.
While nothing has been confirmed yet, it seems like if this deal goes through pornography could be returning to Tumblr in a big way. It remains unclear if Pornhub also has other fundamental changes in mind for the platform if this rumoured deal does come to fruition.
That said, given MindGeek’s reputation for exploiting adult performers and generally upending the adult entertainment industry, this could be overall bad news for Tumblr as a platform and its users.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Forbes
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