Buzzfeed is selling its popular show "Hot Ones" to a firm founded by billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros for $82.5 million in a bid to repay millions of dollars of debt scheduled to be collected soon.
On Thursday, Buzzfeed confirmed the deal to sell the YouTube channel First We Feast, which hosts "Hot Ones", to a syndicate of buyers. The buyers include the founder of First We Feast, Chris Schonberger, and "Hot Ones" host Sean Evans. Other buyers within the syndicate are podcast media company Crooked Media, Rhett & Link's Mythical Entertainment and Soros Fund Management, the investment firm founded and owned by George Soros, reported the New York Times.
This deal will assist Buzzfeed in reducing its active debt load from $124 million to $36 million, allowing the company to pay tens of millions in debt that are due for repayment this month. Proceeds from the sale and funding from operations will help company reduce its deficit.
"I'm excited to continue hosting 'the show with hot questions, and even hotter wings' for years to come," Mr. Evans, who is set to assume the role of chief creative officer for First We Feast, said in a statement. "The future is spicy, and I can't wait to see what's next."
"Hot Ones," which was initially launched in 2015, has amassed over 14 million subscribers on YouTube and 4 billion views as of today. The show is "known for its deeply researched questions" delivered by amiable host Evans, and has featured a variety of celebrity guests including Gordon Ramsay, Jennifer Lawrence, Shaquille O'Neal, Tom Holland, Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Hart, Post Malone, Millie Bobby Brown, Paul Rudd, Margot Robbie, David Beckham, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
Jonah Peretti, the founder of BuzzFeed, stated that the company's decision to sell "Hot Ones" would help BuzzFeed turn into "a media company positioned to fully benefit from the ongoing A.I. revolution."
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