Discovery Acquires Treehugger for $10M – the Masses Get Greener

TreeHugger moves one step closer to its mission of greening the mainstream. Last week, Treehugger, the stylish, Webby Award-winning eco-blog, was acquired by Discovery for, rumors say, approximately $10M.

Discovery Communications, owners of the Discovery Channel, boasts a large network of online and television properties. Its acquisition of TreeHugger allows it to buy a piece of Web 2.0 cool. However, Discovery intends to look to TreeHugger for strategic direction on its Green initiatives, allowing this social media success story to reach the non-tech savvy masses in unprecendented ways.

TreeHugger is an award-winning blog whose mission is to make the mainstream sustainable. TreeHugger, currently ranked 16 on Technorati, serves more than 1.5 million unique visitors a month and has attained 50 million page views since its humble beginning as a MBA class project, nearly 4 years ago.

Other TreeHugger initiatives, like TreeHugger.tv, and Hugg – the eco-Digg are immensely popular within the Green community.

Discovery is TreeHugger’s Perfect Partner

While TreeHugger was courted by 15 large companies over the past year, the partnership with Discovery was a match made in Green heaven. In spite of interest by a number of compelling parties, TreeHugger did not compromise on its values and its original vision… and waited until the perfect partner came along.

“We had many conversations and concluded that we needed a partner with a sizeable, international audience, a kindred brand and a high level commitment philosophically and financially to green, “said TreeHugger Founder, Graham Hill.

Discovery, which reaches 1.5 billion subscribers around the world, with, primarily, high-quality, nature-related content, was a perfect fit. Furthermore, Discovery has committed over $50M towards the development of Green content and programming for its various online and offline channels, including a portfolio of leading Green web sites.

TreeHugger will play an active role in defining Discovery’s Green initiatives, such as its global multiplatform initiative, Planet Green, which includes the first 24/7 eco-lifestyle TV network, which will be launching in 50 million homes in 2008.

I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Aster, a San Francisco web developer and one of the founding members of TreeHugger, in October 2006. During this time, I was in deep in the throes of launching Mariri Magazine, a rainforest webzine powered by Joomla! Nick graciously agreed to an informational interview on the art of online publishing. After an hour-long conversation, I realized my tiny rainforest webzine had a long, long way to go.

I was, and still am, obsessed with understanding the secret to launching a successful online magazine, how to develop develop a never-ending flow of compelling content, create community, and monetize traffic all on a shoe-string budget. TreeHugger began with far bigger budget than I – seed funding from Graham Hill, eco-design entrepreneur, which was enough to support a team of 4-5 Presidio World College Sustainable MBAs to develop and the launch the site full time.

TreeHugger’s content is excellent, thanks to its ability to pay writers around the world for blog posts. Its highly engaged community generates new content daily. It has great ads, and is able to earn enough revenue from sponsorships and ad placements to provide each of its team members with a modest income.

TreeHugger is the “hip” in the “hippy”. Rather than bombard the masses with the unpalatable, guilt-ridden message of most conservation activists, TreeHugger succeeds because it appeals to the consumer in all of us.

Graham states, “99.9% of us are not going to wear loincloths and live in a commune. They are going to continue to buy things, so why not have them buy good things?”

Sources:

This Week’s Podcast with Treehugger by Heather Green

TreeHugger Acquired by Discovery Communications for $10M

TreeHugger Acquires Discovery Communications

[tags]discovery, treehugger, discovery acquires treehugger, green planet, graham hill, nick aster, lorna li[/tags]

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2 Responses to “Discovery Acquires Treehugger for $10M – the Masses Get Greener”

1. Keetsa Mattress Store - Keetsa! Blog - Eco-Friendly and Green News » Blog Archive » 6 Green Social Networks You Should Join Says:
   April 17th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

   [...] members to post, rate, and share green related news items. I prefer the old look before they were bought out by the Discovery Channel last year, but it is still a fun and interesting site. A must [...]

2. Buy Yourself a TreeHugger! « Kingsakfhs’s Weblog Says:
   December 17th, 2008 at 12:04 am

   [...] Graham states, “99.9% of us are not going to wear loincloths and live in a commune. They are going to continue to buy things, so why not have them buy good things?” –lornali.com [...]

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