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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchBuzzFeed sold First We Feast—the independent media company behind Hot Ones—for $82.5 million in cash. The sale closed on December 12, 2024, and First We Feast said it would continue producing the show under new ownership. BuzzFeed described the deal as part of a shift toward programmatic advertising, affiliate commerce, and AI-enabled products and operations; its announcements do not say that it is replacing its content with AI-generated material.
What BuzzFeed sold—and for how much
BuzzFeed announced that it had closed the sale of First We Feast on December 12, 2024. The stated price was $82.5 million in cash. First We Feast is the company that produces Hot Ones; the transaction was a sale of the company, not a separate sale of the series. BuzzFeed’s transaction announcement said the proceeds, together with a partial prepayment of convertible notes, left the company with a cash balance greater than its remaining debt.
BuzzFeed presented the divestiture as completing a strategic shift away from lower-margin content products and toward programmatic advertising and affiliate commerce. Those are the company’s stated rationale and financial claims, not an independent assessment of the sale’s effects.
Who owns First We Feast and Hot Ones now?
First We Feast said it was acquired by a consortium led by its founder, Chris Schonberger, and Hot Ones host Sean Evans. The investors named in the announcement also included Crooked Media, Mythical Entertainment, and Soros Fund Management. So Soros Fund Management was part of the buyer group, not the sole buyer. First We Feast’s announcement said Schonberger became CEO and Evans became chief creative officer while continuing as host. Sarah Honda remained in operations and as a co-executive producer of Hot Ones.
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First We Feast said it would retain its team and continue making the flagship series as an independent company. At the time of its announcement, the company reported that Hot Ones had more than 14 million YouTube subscribers and four billion lifetime views; those are company-reported figures from December 2024, not independently verified audience measurements.
What BuzzFeed means by an AI pivot
BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti described the sale and debt reduction as a step in the company’s “strategic transformation into a media company positioned to fully benefit from the ongoing AI revolution,” in the December 2024 transaction announcement. In a separate strategy letter, Peretti discussed using generative AI for interactive experiences, personalization, and improvements to content and advertising operations. The letter also emphasized programmatic advertising and affiliate commerce as technology-enabled business lines.
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BuzzFeed’s 2024 annual report described AI and machine learning as part of its proprietary technology stack, used to make owned properties more engaging, personalized, and efficient to operate. Taken together, these statements support describing an AI-enabled business strategy. They do not establish a company-wide plan to replace human-made editorial content with AI-generated stories.
Why the sale fits BuzzFeed’s stated business priorities
The company’s strategy letter put advertising and commerce figures behind its stated priorities. Peretti said BuzzFeed generated approximately $90 million in programmatic advertising revenue in 2023. He also said its content drove over $500 million in sales for retail partners that year, generating approximately $50 million in BuzzFeed revenue. These figures were reported by BuzzFeed in its 2024 strategy letter; they are historical company-reported amounts, not forecasts or guarantees of future results. Read the strategy letter.
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First We Feast described a different emphasis: an independent creator-led studio producing Hot Ones and other shows, developing brand partnerships, and extending its properties through commerce products. Its announcement named Hot Ones sauces and Truth or Dab: The Game as examples. It also said it would continue offering brand partnerships and advertising integrations and planned to expand partner opportunities, without setting out specific terms.
| Company after the sale | Ownership | Stated business emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| BuzzFeed, Inc. | Not changed by this transaction; it sold First We Feast. | Programmatic advertising, affiliate commerce, and AI-enabled operations and experiences, as described in its announcements and annual report. |
| First We Feast | Independent company acquired by a consortium led by Chris Schonberger and Sean Evans, with Crooked Media, Mythical Entertainment, and Soros Fund Management among the investors. | Producing Hot Ones and other shows, brand partnerships, and related commerce products, as described in its announcement. |
The announcements describe each company’s direction, but they do not establish which business will perform better.
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What the deal means for viewers
First We Feast said Hot Ones would continue, Evans would remain its host, and the company would keep its team. Its announcement also described the show’s sauces and Truth or Dab: The Game as extensions of the audience experience. The deal changed the company’s ownership; the available announcements do not indicate that the series was discontinued or that its format was being replaced.
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