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Mode Media is no more, abruptly shuts down

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By Lisa Lacy | n/a

September 16, 2016 | 3 min read

Lifestyle network Mode Media has suddenly become outmoded, ceasing operations as of September 15, reports say.

Mode Media

Lifestyle network Mode Media has abruptly ceased operations. / Mode Media

In fact, citing “several people with knowledge” of a staff meeting on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reports Brisbane, Calif.-based Mode, which was once valued at $1 billion, “abruptly shut down.”

According to a memo acquired by the Wall Street Journal, Mode had been seeking financing or an acquisition for the last five months.

The move follows reported layoffs earlier this year, along with management changes. In April, for example, Jack Rotolo took over as interim CEO, replacing founder Samir Arora. The following month, John Small was named COO.

Founded as Glam Media in 2003, Mode changed its name in 2014 and expanded its scope, including the acquisition of social platform Ning. And, according to Crunchbase, the company raised nearly $225 million along the way from investors like Accel Partners, DAG Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Hurbert Burda Media and Walden Venture Capital.

As The Drum previously reported, Mode was once a top 10 U.S. media property with 137m monthly unique users in the US and 405m unique users worldwide, per the site’s figures. According to comScore in March 2015, it was the #1 multiplatform lifestyle destination ahead of SheKnows, AOL Lifestyles, Condé Nast and Meredith. And, in November 2015, comScore placed Mode as the 7th largest video platform in the US.

VentureBeat said the company turned to video two years ago “in a last-ditch effort to save itself,” but “somewhere around the beginning of this year, something went terribly wrong.”

Terribly wrong, indeed. Per VentureBeat’s figures, the company generated around $100 million in revenue in 2015, but was losing about $5 to 7 million. And, as VentureBeat noted, it’s curious a company with $100 million in revenue could suddenly cease to exist. What's more, Recode said, the timing is particularly peculiar as media companies generate considerable ad revenue in the fall. Recode also noted content creators from Mode’s network are now turning to Twitter to air their grievances about the unlikelihood they will ever get paid.

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