• by Sara Guaglione , December 12, 2018

Editor's note: This story has been corrected from an earlier version that incorrectly identified Phillips 66 as ConocoPhillips.

First Media, a publisher focused on DIY, food and parenting content, is partnering with GSTV to distribute content from So Yummy and Blossom to over 18,000 locations nationwide.

Blossom and So Yummy are First Media’s most popular brands. The food and DIY/hack-related content will air short-form videos daily for commuters on media screens embedded in fuel dispensers across GSTV’s national network.

So Yummy began streaming live on GSTV in early December. It was recently ranked the No. 1 food channel on YouTube. Blossom was ranked the No. 1 home/DIY channel on YouTube. Blossom will roll out soon after. So Yummy and Blossom, which launched in 2016, have 24 billion total video views on Facebook, 2.7 billion on YouTube and 1 billion on Instagram.

GSTV delivers video to 75 million monthly unique viewers at fuel retailers across the country, including 7-Eleven, Arco, BP, Circle K, Chevron, Phillips 66, Exxon-Mobil, Gulf, KwikTrip, Marathon, Speedway and Sunoco. It claims to reach one in three American adults monthly, with local weather, news, sports, pop culture and entertainment content.

“This will provide valuable insights on the impact of our brands beyond digital,” stated Charles P. Gabriel, Chief Revenue Officer, First Media. “This is an incredible opportunity for us to build new brands and establish a content strategy that drives our own ecommerce efforts, as well as those of our clients.”

Blossom published a DIY "hack" video that is the most viral video on Facebook, with over 440 million video views and over 16 million engagements.

Sharon Rechter, president of First Media, told Publishers Daily the company is proud of its engagement: BuzzFeed’s cooking brand Tasty, an online sensation, had 147 branded posts to reach 459 million views, while Blossom had six posts to reach 176.8 million total views — an average view count of 29.5 million per post, compared to Tasty’s 3.1 million.

Rechter added: “A brand doesn’t care about 1.5 billion videos. They care how much the video they pay to be in will do.”

A grilling hack video from Blossom, produced in partnership with ShopRite, was one of the top branded videos on Facebook in 2018, with over 110 million views and more than 2.3 million shares.

First Media has worked with advertisers like Bed Bath & Beyond, Tinder, Dollar Shave Club and Sony Pictures.

First Media is “profitable and has zero debt,” Rechter said. “We never outsource” video content. We never buy content." While many publishers have suffered the wrath of Facebook’s algorithm, Rechter said First Media took a hit, but the decrease in views “did not change our revenues because suddenly there was less competition, and CPMs were higher.”

“Unlike most who really rely on one leg … our cable business is a profitable business. We have the breadth to withstand the changing circumstances,” she said.