As part of the planned staff cuts and restructuring of Fusion, parent company Univision has named
The Onionpresident and CEO Mike McAvoy as head of ad sales and revenue for the Fusion Media
Group portfolio.
Fusion Media Group, which includes properties such as Fusion, The Onion and The Root, were combined with Gawker Media’s digital brands acquired
by Univision. They were renamed Gizmodo Media Group.
The $135 million acquisition did not include flagship site Gawker, which was shut down in August, but includes
Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Jezebel, Deadspin, Lifehacker and Kotaku.
According to a memo from Isaac Lee, Univision's digital, entertainment and news chief, Univision began
centralizing its digital revenue and ad sales efforts across all its English-language brands last month. Now, McAvoy will oversee these efforts, as well as continue to serve as CEO of The
Onion.
According to a report from Ad Age, Fusion Media Group will sell as one team, though brands will also still be able to advertise with specific companies in the
portfolio.
advertisement
advertisement
McAvoy suggested to Ad Age that Fusion Media Group will look into ecommerce as a new revenue stream for its brands. He will also oversee programmatic sales and
branded content efforts.
This spring, Fusion hired Jason Wagenheim to lead ad sales and revenue as SVP of brand partnerships. But this month, he left the
company for a position as Bustle's Chief Revenue Officer.
As part of the restructuring, Wagenheim's position at Fusion will not be filled.
This week, Univision
announced its plan to lay off nearly 6% of its workforce, or up to 250 people. Fusion will be most affected by the decision.
Univision reportedly suffered a third-quarter loss of
$30.5 million, or an 8% decline in revenue. Isaac Lee, Univision's digital, entertainment and news chief, said Gizmodo Media Group staffers would not be affected by the layoffs.
Lee
added that Fusion will increase its focus on social justice issues and strive to be "a hub” for investigative work.