NBC Universal’s (NYSE: GE) Bravo is expanding its online content—and its snark factor—with the acquisition of TelevisionWithoutPity.com, a site with the motto “spare the snark, spoil the networks.” Bravo’s homegrown online portfolio includes BravoTV.com, and Trio suite BrilliantbutCancelled.com, getTRIO.com (broadband), OUTzoneTV.com. TWoP will keep its own url and its own editorial identity but will be linked to the Trio suite. No terms were disclosed. Co-founders Tara Ariano and Sarah D. Bunting stay on as editors. Ariano’s husband David T. Cole, also a co-founder, becomes manager, media technology production; he’ll continue to manage the fan forums. Release.
Why this for Bravo’s first online acquisition? TWoP—which Bravo calls a “premiere internet destination for the discerning television ‘junkie’”—comes with its own community, attention from TV pros and fans, and a healthy amount of traffic. With the move, Bravo says it ups its web traffic by more than 27 percent in terms of uniques and more than doubles its page views. WToP draws more than 1 million monthly uniques to read its recaps of several dozen shows and serves 30 million or so page views. .
-- The origins of the site date back to 1998 when Ariano and Bunting started ripping apart Dawson’s Creek. The current name dates back to 2002.
TWoP: “TWoP can get even TWoPpier—partnering with Bravo will give us the opportunity to expand our coverage, in all directions. We can cover more shows, and we can cover shows (and TV in general) in different ways—trend stories, blogs, exclusive interviews, audio and video content. We’ll still provide snarky recaps, and you’ll still be able to visit the virtual water-cooler of the forums, but you can also look forward to podcasts, episode extras, and all sorts of other neat stuff.”