Gawker Website Set to Be Shut Down

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Notorious online news website Gawker.com is shutting down after its parent company was forced into bankruptcy then sold to Univision Communications.

According to a post on Gawker.com, Gawker Media CEO Nick Denton told staffers Thursday afternoon that the site will shut down next week.

Univision won a court administered auction for Gawker. The transaction is expected to be formalized at a 2 p.m. hearing. Univision had no comment on the website shutdown.

Univision, the top Spanish-language broadcaster, is looking to grow digital assets, which reach a younger, more affluent audience. It recently invested in The Onion and The Root and bought out Walt Disney Co.’s stake in Fusion.

Gawker Media operates several other sites including Jezebel, Deadspin, Gizmodo and Jalopnik.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.