blogTO
| Private | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Digital Media |
| Founded 📆 | 2004 |
| Founder 👔 | Tim Shore |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , , Canada |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| Parent | ZoomerMedia Limited |
| 🌐 Website | https://www.blogto.com/ |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
blogTO is a Canadian digital media company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 2004, the company is a source for local news, culture, and lifestyle content focused on the Greater Toronto Area. Initially established as a website,.[1] it evolved into a multi-platform digital publisher with a large social media following[2]
History
blogTO was founded by Tim Shore in December 2004..[3][4] The site initially published content about local news, restaurants, events and niche cultural happenings.[1] Over time, the company expanded its team of writers and editors to broaden its coverage to include topics such as real estate, and travel. It also added podcasts and video-based content.
blogTO's growth coincided with the decline of Toronto's print alt-weekly newspapers. It competed directly with publications like NOW Magazine, Eye Weekly, and The Grid. Eye Weekly was published by the Toronto Star from 1991 until 2011, when it was closed and replaced by The Grid. The Grid itself ceased publication in 2014.[5] NOW Magazine ended its regular print edition in 2022 and has since operated primarily online with a reduced output.[6]
Evolution and Expansion to Social Video
The mid-to-late 2010s saw a strategic shift at blogTO as the company adapted to changes in media consumption brought on by the rise of social media. The company began producing short-form video content for platforms like Instagram and TikTok.[2] These videos, often featuring fast-paced editing and trending audio, showcased restaurants, local events, and locations around Toronto. This type of content frequently received hundreds of thousands of views, expanding the publisher's reach.[7]
The shift to social video also impacted the company's business model, with paid partnerships becoming a significant source of revenue for a time.[2]
The passage of Canada's Online News Act (Bill C-18) in 2023[8] led Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to block all news content for its Canadian users.[9] This action has had a notable impact on publishers like blogTO that had used these platforms to reach and monetize their audience. The company's Facebook and Instagram accounts remain blocked for users in Canada.
Sale to ZoomerMedia
In January 2022, it was announced that blogTO's parent company, Freshdaily Inc., had been acquired by ZoomerMedia for $15 million.[10] Founded by Moses Znaimer, ZoomerMedia's properties, such as Zoomer Magazine and VisionTV, have traditionally focuses on a 45-and-older demographic. The acquisition of blogTO, with its younger audience, represented a strategic diversification for ZoomerMedia.[11]
In a statement, Znaimer said the purchase of blogTO, along with its subsequent acquisition of Daily Hive, would allow the company to offer advertisers access to a wider range of demographics.[12] In an interview following the sale, Shore stated that the partnership was a "great fit" due to Znaimer's interest in local media.[10]
On March 14, 2025, it was reported that Tim Shore was no longer employed at ZoomerMedia.[13]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "eye - Attack of the pro-blogs - 03.17.05". www.eye.net. Archived from the original on 2005-03-19. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Stephanie Marcus (April 14, 2022). "Why BlogTO is focused on social to grow its revenue". Media of Canada. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ "blogTO". www.blogto.com. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ Mudhar, Raju (2025-03-26). "BlogTO founder parts ways with Toronto media site after more than 20 years". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ Russ Martin (July 2, 2024). "Torstar's The Grid shuts down". Retrieved 2025-07-11.
- ↑ "NOW Magazine just took another big step toward the end of an era". www.blogto.com. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
- ↑ "TikTok - blogTO". www.tiktok.com. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ "Navigating the complexities of Canada's Online News Act, Bill C-18 | NATIONAL". www.national.ca. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ "Meta's news ban in Canada remains as Online News Act goes into effect". 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 CANADALAND (2022-03-21). "This is what a $15 million website in Toronto looks like". CANADALAND. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ Josh Kolm (January 24, 2022). "ZoomerMedia acquires BlogTO parent Freshdaily". Media of Canada. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ Rubin, Josh (2022-09-14). "ZoomerMedia goes after the younger generation with deal to buy Daily Hive publisher for $16.4 million". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
- ↑ Ferreira, Beatriz (2025-03-25). "blogTO founder fired after creating the Toronto-based digital media brand 20 years ago". NOW Toronto. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
External links
This article "BlogTO" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:BlogTO. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
