Days after gutting its Mediaweek editorial team and acquiring youth publisher Pedestrian, Vinyl has secured an agreement to buy Time Out Australia from its British owner.
Vinyl will take over the operations of Time Out Australia and enter a long-term franchise agreement with Time Out England.
Time Out is one of the largest entertainment and listings media brands in the UK; its magazines and websites have been relied upon by generations of people to plan their nightlife and entertainment.
Its parent company Time Out England is now pursuing a franchise model for selected local markets by partnering with media operators that have local audience insight, commercial relationships and operating scale, in return for an ongoing royalty fee.
Vinyl Group said it has secured $2.4 million from strategic investors to provide capital and support to the company’s consolidation of its acquisitions of Pedestrian and Time Out Australia.
Time Out Australia joins Vinyl Media’s existing portfolio of youth and culture media brands, including Concrete Playground, BuzzFeed, Rolling Stone AU/NZ and Mediaweek.
The licence includes operation of Time Out branded websites across Australian cities, social media platforms and events and experiential activations.
Time Out Australia has historically been profitable and Vinyl Group expects it to positively contribute to its EBITDA in FY27.
“This is a highly strategic acquisition that brings one of the world’s most iconic culture brands into the Vinyl Media portfolio. Time Out strengthens our position at the intersection of content and real-world experiences, and expands our reach into high-value audiences across Australia. It is another important step in building a scaled, premium publishing platform,” Vinyl Group CEO and executive director Josh Simons said.
Rob Biagioni, CEO of Time Out Media, said: “Australia is an important territory for Time Out, and we’re proud of the business and audience we have built over many years. Vinyl has a strong track record of growing premium media brands and connecting audiences with real-world experiences, making them the ideal partner for Time Out in Australia.
“We are excited to work together to continue growing the Time Out brand and helping Australians discover the very best of their cities.”
Last week, Vinyl Group made redundant editorial director Sarah Chapman and several Mediaweek editorial staff redundant. Yesterday, it revealed plans to acquire youth publisher Pedestrian from Nine.
