Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze Close To Collapse, Buyout Deal Falls Through
Digital media company TheBlaze, founded by conservative commentator Glenn Beck, may be on the brink of collapse. Earlier this week, the company laid off all but roughly 50 employees after a potential buyout fell through.
Speaking to The Daily Beast, an inside source said conservative media corporation The Daily Wire, owned by right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro, entered preliminary discussions to buy Glenn Beck’s company. However, an agreement could not be reached, and it looks like both parties killed the deal.
At its height, TheBlaze was making $90 million a year. Yet, over the past few years, the media empire has been on a downward spiral. Management reorganizations, multiple rounds of layoffs, office closures, and shrinking website traffic have hurt both morale and revenue.
Recently, talking on his radio show, Beck announced he was thinking about putting his Dallas home up for sale. Now, many speculate Beck is preparing to close his Dallas headquarters and move to a smaller office in Los Angeles.
To quell the speculation even before it began, Beck told his audience putting the house on the market was because of economic uncertainty.
“I am putting my home up for sale because I fear this economy as we are headed for trouble, and I don’t want to be sitting with a big huge house.”
Conservative firebrand Glenn Beck’s multimedia empire TheBlaze appears to be on its last legs after another round of layoffs and after a prospective high-profile buyer lost interest, report @TheLloydGrove and @maxwelltani: https://t.co/AHAYXekQD3
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 23, 2018
A DC-9 private jet, owned by Beck’s radio company, Mercury Radio, was put up for sale earlier this year. According to a person close to Beck, the conservative host is selling the aging aircraft because refueling has become a problem whenever flying long distances.
Another source told The Daily Beast that Beck is selling or giving away several items in TheBlaze’s main office. Many possessions the former Fox News host has collected over the years are being moved out.
The downfall of TheBlaze began about the same time President Donald Trump was elected. Beck was a vocal critic of the newly-elected president, even likening him to Hitler at times. However, this anti-Trump branding may have caused his mostly-conservative audience to flee both his radio and TV shows, as well as TheBlaze website.
Trying to gain his fans and audience back, Beck changed bearing and began to support Trump.
“I will vote for [Trump] again in 2020! Gladly!” he told his audience in May while wearing a Make America Great Again hat.
Glenn Beck launched TheBlaze.com in 2010 followed by TheBlaze TV in September, 2011. The company includes the website, TV, and radio networks, and business marketplace.
