The New York Times Company has moved into exclusive negotiations to buy Letterboxd for roughly $330 million, taking a publisher known for news into one of the most engaged film-community platforms online.
The talks, first reported by the Times on Thursday, come after TheWrap flagged the publisher’s interest in September and identified it as a leading contender in October. No agreement has been reached, and the Times declined to comment.
Why the price is $330M
The proposed valuation is about 22 times Letterboxd’s projected 2026 EBITDA of $15 million, according to the Times, citing two people familiar with the discussions. That is a long way from the $50 million to $60 million valuation in 2023, when Canadian holding company Tiny took a 60% stake; co-founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow retained the remaining 40%.
Letterboxd’s membership explains the jump. It surpassed 30.7 million at the end of the second quarter, up 43% year on year, and was approaching 35 million by October, per TheWrap’s earlier reporting.
What the Times is buying
For the Times, Letterboxd adds a scaled digital audience beyond its news core. The publisher has used acquisitions such as The Athletic, Wirecutter and Wordle to build subscription and advertising revenue, and it is working toward a goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027.
Under the proposed structure, Letterboxd would remain a standalone platform with its co-founders in charge, while tapping the Times’ ad tech. That matters for media planners: it suggests a premium, context-rich environment for film advertising, but not an immediate rebrand.
For the film business, the bid also settles a strategic question. Studios and streamers that looked at Letterboxd included A24, Sony and Netflix, along with an investor group led by Madison Wells CEO Gigi Pritzker. A Times owner could run the service without conflicts over how users review movies.
Independence is the deal’s centre
Preserving the platform’s voice has been a key condition throughout the process. TheWrap reports one competing bidder offered to keep Letterboxd’s model intact and warned that other buyers could put parts of the service behind a paywall.
That is the risk marketers and subscribers will watch: a paywalled or heavily integrated Letterboxd could cool the community that makes it valuable. Keeping founders in place signals the Times understands the asset.
What to watch
- The exclusivity window: talks can still fall apart, and no binding agreement exists.
- Founder continuity: Buchanan and von Randow staying on is part of the proposed deal.
- Ad tech integration: how quickly Letterboxd inventory becomes available to Times advertisers.
- Community reaction: any paywall or moderation change could shift user loyalty.
The sale process was run by investment bank LionTree. For entertainment marketers, a Times-owned Letterboxd could become a more measurable place to reach younger moviegoers; for competitors, it raises the value of fandom data and community platforms.
Source: TheWrap
