Deadspin Sells to European Media Company, Leaving Staff Behind

Deadspin, the sports news website, has been sold to a European digital media company, its owner, G/O Media, said on Monday.

G/O Media, which is owned by the private equity firm Great Hill Partners, operates a number of digital media brands, including Gizmodo, Kotaku and The Onion. Jim Spanfeller, the chief executive, told staff members in an email Monday afternoon that the company had recently been approached about a deal by “a newly formed digital media company” called Lineup Publishing.

Mr. Spanfeller said the board accepted the offer because of “the buyer’s editorial plans for the brand, tough competition in the sports journalism sector and a valuation that reflected a sizable premium from our original purchase price for the site.”

He did not disclose the deal price.

Mr. Spanfeller said that the new owner would not be bringing on any of the website’s existing staff members, and that those workers would also not be staying at G/O Media.

“While the new owners plan to be reverential to Deadspin’s unique voice, they plan to take a different content approach regarding the site’s overall sports coverage,” he said.

Lineup Publishing’s website has few details about the company, except the description: “Engaging brands. With heaps of character.” It indicates that the company is based in Malta. A representative for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Deadspin, which started as a blog in 2005 and was part of the Gawker Media’s portfolio of websites, was sold to G/O Media in 2019 along with a number of other former Gawker brands.

Last year, G/O Media shut down Jezebel, a pioneering feminist website, and then sold it to Paste Magazine. It also sold Lifehacker, an online how-to guide.