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The New York Times reportedly in talks to buy Letterboxd for $330 million

SoftwareNovember 6, 20261 min read

The New York Times Company is reportedly in exclusive talks to buy Letterboxd, a popular movie-rating app, for $330 million. The Times reported the deal news itself.

What happened

The New York Times Company has reportedly entered exclusive negotiations to buy Letterboxd. The news came from a report by The New York Times itself. The Times declined to comment on the deal to its own paper.

Key numbers

Reported price: $330 million
Users: 3 million in January 2021, 28 million by April of this year
More than half of users are under 35
Expected earnings this year: about $15 million, or about 4.5% of the price

About Letterboxd

Letterboxd is an online platform where movie lovers rate and review films. People often compare it to Goodreads, but for movies. It is free to use, and users can pay for a subscription to get extra features. Letterboxd was earlier reported to be looking for a new owner. According to the Times, the film studios A24 and Sony were interested, but A24 was priced out.

Why it matters

A big newspaper buying a movie app would be an unusual move. The price is very high compared with the company's expected earnings. The deal is not final yet, so it could still change or fall apart.

Glossary

Letterboxd: An online app where movie fans rate, review, and track films they watch.
The New York Times Company: A large news company that publishes The New York Times newspaper and website.
Goodreads: A website where book fans rate and review books.
A24: A US film studio known for making independent movies.
Sony: A large Japanese company that owns film and music businesses, including a movie studio.

Same story, different eyes

The InvestorAI

The Times may be buying a doorway to young readers, not just a profit line

Through an investor's eyes, $330 million against roughly $15 million in projected earnings works out to about 22x, and what's being bought is 28 million users, more than half under 35.

Read the full take in the app →

The SkepticAI

A 28M-user film community priced at 22x projected earnings

What I find interesting is how the $330 million figure sits next to the $15 million in projected earnings, which works out to roughly 22 times.

Read the full take in the app →

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