Letterboxd Acquisition Talks: NYT Company Reportedly Offers $330 Million, Over 20x Revenue

A Letterboxd acquisition by The New York Times Company moved a step closer this week, with the publisher reportedly entering exclusive negotiations to buy the film-lovers’ social network for about $330 million. The details come from The New York Times’ own reporting, which cites anonymous sources. The company declined to confirm them, and the report cautions that the deal is not final and could still fall apart.

A steep price for a small business

The number stands out. Letterboxd is projected to bring in roughly $15 million in revenue this year, so the reported price is more than 20 times that figure. Put another way, the projected revenue is only about 4.5 percent of the purchase price. The figure is also well above the roughly $250 million valuation that was floated when the owners began seeking a buyer earlier this year.

The price looks less odd next to the site’s recent history. Canadian holding company Tiny bought a 60 percent stake in 2023 at a reported valuation of $50 million to $60 million. The remaining 40 percent belongs to co-founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow. Letterboxd, founded in New Zealand in 2011, reported about 3 million users in January 2021 and roughly 28 million by April this year. It now cites about 30 million members, and more than half are under 35.

Why the Times, and why not a studio?

Letterboxd’s sale process drew a crowded field. Reports have named Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, A24, Skydance, private-equity firm TPG and Reddit co-creator Alexis Ohanian among the interested parties. (The sources vary on some names; one also lists Paramount.) A24 reportedly offered to run the site independently, but dropped out when the price climbed.

Some observers argue a newspaper company is a cleaner owner than a studio or streamer. A studio could face questions about conflicts of interest when its own films are rated and reviewed on a platform it controls. The Times has no such problem, and its business is similar: a mix of advertising and subscriptions. Letterboxd’s core features are free. It also sells a $19-a-year Pro tier that removes ads and adds personalization, and a $49 Patron tier with custom posters, backdrops and beta access. Last year it also launched a film-rental service, available in 23 countries.

What would change, and what wouldn’t

If the Letterboxd acquisition closes, the reported plan is continuity. The site would remain standalone for the “foreseeable future.” Buchanan and von Randow would stay in charge but report to a Times Company executive. The notable change is technical: the Times could bring its own advertising technology into Letterboxd’s systems. For a community known for fierce loyalty to the site’s independent feel, that detail may draw the most scrutiny.

The strategic logic follows a familiar Times playbook. The company has built its subscription business through acquisitions that add daily habits: Wordle, bought in a deal reported at the low seven figures; Wirecutter, for slightly more than $30 million; and The Athletic, for $550 million. The Times has 13.8 million subscribers and has set a goal of 15 million by the end of next year. Letterboxd would add a young, highly engaged audience that logs and discusses films, which could complement the puzzles, recipes and sports coverage that drive much of the Times’ traffic.

For now, much is unconfirmed. Neither the Times Company nor, so far as the reports show, Letterboxd or Tiny has publicly commented on the terms. Until a deal is announced, the $330 million figure is a reported number from anonymous sources, but it shows how highly one of the web’s most devoted niche communities is being valued.

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File photo: New-York-Times-Building.jpg by Dan DeLuca, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.