TF1 has announced the sale of its Unify publishing division to Reworld Media Group.
The French media operator has spent the last four years building out its publishing group, technology platform and ad sales house Unify Advertising, the company said. The web publishing division includes the health website Doctissimo, recipe portal Marmiton and tech brand Les Numériques.
The new owner Reworld Media owns over 60 French media brands, including Maison & Travaux, Grazia and Marie-France. The group operates an additional B2B business designed to support companies “as they take their communication strategies online,” according to TF1.
Subject to approval by the French completion authority, the deal has been presented to TF1 Group’s employee representative bodies, and would see Reworld Group take on all Unify Publishers employees.
“Reworld Media’s interest in Unify Publishers is the mark of the attractiveness of our brands, the expertise that underpins them, and their growth potential,” said TF1 Group Chairman and CEO Gilles Pélisson. “I would like to thank everyone at Unify for all their hard work and commitment, which have enabled us to build a unique business over these last four years. If the deal goes through, Reworld Media, with its market insight and know-how, will be the best partner to support the company and its talent in their sustainable growth.”
Separating Unify
TF1 Group announced Reworld Media as the best fit out of several companies expressing interest in Unify Publishers, whose brands attract a combined 25 million unique visitors a month, recording more than 200 million page views each year. As well as its range of home, health and technology websites, the division includes the Vertical Station social media brands, the Garage production studio, and an influencer business called Studio Fy.
“Reworld Media is well established in the French media landscape,” TF1 said in a press release. “It is growing fast, and its brands offer a good fit with TF1 group brands in fields such as women’s interests, food, health/wellness, and hi-tech/gaming. That’s why it is seen as the best partner to take Unify Publishers forward.”
The agreement follows last week’s sale of Gamned!, TF1’s programmatic arm, to private equity fund HLD Group. The strategy finds TF1 shifting focus to streaming and production operations amid what the company calls “a wave of consolidations” for its online advertising sector.
In November 2021, the group launched MYTF1 MAX, an ad-free version of the MYTF1 streaming platform. The company is also in the process of taking full control of Salto, the SVOD service co-created with M6 and France Télévisions. These form the heart of TF1’s streaming strategy, which it says is “taking into account consumers’ new behaviour and extending the advertising offering to our advertiser customers.”
