Pedestrian (company)

Pedestrian, formerly PEDESTRIAN.TV, is a youth digital news and entertainment website based in Sydney, Australia, which has existed since 2005. It is owned by Pedestrian Group, a company created by Nine Entertainment in 2018 after buying out PEDESTRIAN.TV and merging it with Allure Media, three years after acquiring a majority share in PEDESTRIAN.TV.

Pedestrian
Type of site
Digital media, news
Available inEnglish
Country of originAustralia
OwnerPedestrian Group, owned by Nine Entertainment
Founder(s)Chris Wirasinha
Oscar Martin
EditorJosephine Rozenberg-Clarke
Key peopleMatt Rowley, CEO
Vanessa Lawrence, Publisher
URLpedestriangroup.com.au
CommercialYes
Launched2005
Current statusActive

As of March 2022 Pedestrian Group owns Pedestrian (the website) as well the Australian brands Vice Media (Australia), Business Insider Australia, Gizmodo AU, Refinery29, Lifehacker Australia, Kotaku Australia, Pedestrian JOBS, and Openair Cinemas.

History

Launched in 2005[1] by co-founders Chris Wirasinha and Oscar Martin, Pedestrian.TV was initially distributed as a DVD magazine, stylised as a "Plastizine", with the advertorial backing of BMW Mini.[2] In 2007, the company shifted online, launching the Pedestrian.TV site.

In 2010, the company launched sub-site Pedestrian JOBS; a creative industries-focused employment classifieds board.

Nine Entertainment Co. subsequently acquired a 60% stake in Pedestrian.TV in 2015 for a reported $10 million.[3] Nine bought out Wirasinha and Martin's remaining 40% ownership share in 2018 for an additional $39 million,[4] putting the company's total valuation just shy of $100 million.

In 2017 Pedestrian.TV broke the story of youth government broadcaster Triple J's initial internal discussions regarding moving the Triple J Hottest 100 away from the controversial January 26 Australia Day public holiday.[5] Triple J ultimately shifted the Hottest 100 date to the fourth weekend in January, citing a desire to remain "an event that everyone can enjoy together."[6]

Following the merger of Nine and Fairfax Media in 2018,[7] the business behind Pedestrian.TV was merged with that of Allure Media,[8] forming the larger Pedestrian Group,[9] with the website changing its name to Pedestrian, and also incorporating the brands Business Insider Australia, Gizmodo, Kotaku and POPSUGAR Australia. It was announced that it would continue to be run by its founders.[10][11]

With Wirasinha and Martin shifting to advisory roles following the sale, Nine appointed Matt Rowley as the CEO of Pedestrian Group in early 2019.[12] Also in 2019, Pedestrian acquired Openair Cinemas[13] (formerly American Express Openair Cinemas, which arranged outdoor showings of films in open spaces across Australia[14] and New Zealand[15]).

According to audience data in September 2019, the website reached over one million unique users per month, and attracted in excess of two million monthly page views.[16]

PopSugar was still part of the group in September 2019,[16] but appears to have been dropped by March 2022.[11]

In March 2021, Pedestrian Group announced a multi-year deal with Vice Media and Refinery29 to become the Australian digital publishing home of both brands.[17][18] A new team was announced for Refinery29 later that year, and in January 2022 a new team of five, headed by Brad Esposito, was announced to head up Vice Australia and New Zealand.[19]

Description

Pedestrian is based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.[1]

As of March 2022 the Pedestrian Group owns Pedestrian and the Australian brands Vice Media (Australia), Business Insider Australia, Gizmodo AU, Refinery29, Lifehacker Australia, Kotaku, Pedestrian JOBS, and Openair Cinemas.[11]

Key people

Matt Rowley is CEO of Pedestrian Group (as of October 2021),[20] while Vanessa Lawrence is Publisher (as of January 2022).[19]

Awards

Pedestrian.TV was awarded Brand of the Year by Mumbrella in 2015,[21] 2016,[22] and also 2020, with Pedestrian Group winning three other Mumbrella awards, for Best Publisher-Led Advertising Campaign, Event of the Year, and Branded Content Studio of the Year in the same year.[23]

References
  1. "Historical details for ABN 60 112 839 568". ABN Lookup. November 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. Samios, Zoe (19 September 2018). "From DVD magazine to Nine buyout: The story of Pedestrian TV". Mumbrella. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  3. "Nine's no digital Pedestrian". Australian Financial Review. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  4. Redrup, Yolanda (2 September 2018). "How two Millennials built Pedestrian into a $100m business". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  5. "HUGE: Triple J "In Serious Talks" To Move 'Hottest 100' From Australia Day". Pedestrian TV. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  6. j, Words by triple (27 November 2017). "Hottest 100's new date". triple j. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  7. "What the Fairfax and Nine merger means for you". www.abc.net.au. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  8. Samios, Zoe (11 December 2018). "Pedestrian TV and Allure merge, with Jason Scott to depart". Mumbrella. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  9. Bennett, Lindsay (11 December 2018). "Pedestrian TV to absorb Allure Media in post-Fairfax consolidation". AdNews. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  10. "Nine merging digital publishers Pedestrian.TV & Allure Media". Mediaweek. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. "Home page". Pedestrian Group. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. Kelly, Vivienne (10 April 2019). "Matt Rowley becomes CEO of Pedestrian as founders Chris Wirasinha and Oscar Martin exit". Mumbrella. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  13. "History". Pedestrian Group. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  14. "American Express Openair Cinemas". WeekendNotes. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  15. "How Openair Cinemas grew transactions by 42% YoY". Pais Digital. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  16. Blackiston, Hannah (11 September 2019). "Pedestrian Group reveals first audience figures since Allure merger, with unique audience of 3.5m". Mumbrella. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  17. Samios, Zoe (14 March 2021). "Pedestrian Group signs deals to publish US websites Vice and Refinery29". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  18. "Vice Australia and Refinery29 to join Pedestrian Group in a multi-year deal with Vice Media Group". Nine Entertainment. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  19. Shepherd, Emma (18 January 2022). "Pedestrian Group appoints new team behind Vice AUNZ". Mumbrella. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  20. Rowley, Matt (19 October 2021). "Don't fear The Great Resignation". Mumbrella. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  21. "2015 Winners - Mumbrella Awards". 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  22. "Cummins & Partners takes out agency of the year at Mumbrella Awards". Mumbrella. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  23. Wells, Darren (5 November 2020). "Pedestrian.TV awarded Brand of the Year at Mumbrella Publish Awards". Mumbrella. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
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