Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
NBCUniversal is shuttering DailyCandy, one of "Web 1.0's" original success stories, along with TWoP TV. The closure was first reported by CNBC-partnered site Re/Code which disclosed that "NBCU is an investor in Revere Digital, which publishes Re/code." Management told the staff of 65 at DC that the shutdown is slated for next week.
Though DailyCandy was one of the first to pilot local recommendation content in email form, it evolved into a site shortly after it was purchased by Comcast media in 2008 for $125 million. When the blogging era ushered in a ton of competition, there was less and less traffic to monetize the effort. NBC attempted to sell the property, but was unsuccessful.
For those paying attention, it's not like a full fold was out of the question. Several Daily Candy e-commerce ventures bubbled up and fizzed out over the past few years, including Groupon-like Daily Deals and a sample sale shopping hub called Swirl.
But one curveball that's shocking for media-types, brands and people who care about internet preservation: The site, as well as TWoP TV, will go entirely black to the public, meaning no archives. Companies who got their major break thanks to DailyCandy's recommendations will do well screenshoting that link.
DailyCandy has confirmed:
Good-byes are never easy. After 14 years of bringing you the best, we will close our doors on 4/4. Thanks for the memories. Xoxo
— DailyCandy (@dailycandy) March 27, 2014
UPDATE: NBC has issued this statement about the decision. "DailyCandy and Television Without Pity were groundbreaking businesses when they launched more than a decade ago, and the teams there have done great work creating unique voices in the digital space. However, as NBCUniversal continues to evolve, the decision was made that DailyCandy and Television Without Pity are no longer viable businesses for our company. Effective April 4, DailyCandy and Television Without Pity will cease all operations."· NBCUniversal-owned DailyCandy and Television Without Pity Will Be Shut Down [Re/Code]
· DailyCandy Shutters Swirl [Racked]
Loading comments...